


The Worst Flowers Bloom in an Empty Heart

by violetstorm



Category: Tales of Zestiria
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, F/M, Fluff, Romance, Spoilers, the rest of the cast appears occasionally
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-02
Updated: 2018-05-01
Packaged: 2019-04-17 03:25:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 30
Words: 23,842
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14179473
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/violetstorm/pseuds/violetstorm
Summary: 30 day prompt challenge for Zaveid/Lailah.





	1. Day 1: Trust

**Author's Note:**

> I was saddened about the amount of Zaveid/Lailah content, so I have taken it upon myself to give you guys 30 days of Zavelai, each day having a different prompt. I want to challenge myself to get one chapter out per day, even if it's a tiny drabble of less than 500 words. Some chapters will be AUs and whatnot and some may or may not contain spoilers, but for the sake of things, please avoid reading if you don't want to get spoiled on any Zestiria stuff (with a bit of Zaveid backstory stuff from Berseria!)
> 
> Enjoy~!
> 
> (Edit 04/03/2018: Title changed from "Petals Scattered in the Wind" to "The Worst Flowers Bloom in an Empty Heart." Can you guess the reference I made~?)

The hellion was much tougher than Zaveid expected.

When he decided to talk a walk outside of Pendrago at night, while the others were fast asleep inside an inn, he didn’t expect to come across a hellion and definitely not one as powerful as this. Zaveid was no stranger to fights, hell, he lived through the chaos that came with them, but it had caught him by surprise and ended up gouging its claws deep into his right arm before he could avoid it.

The blood had long since stained his arm and dammit, if it weren’t for this cut, the wolf hellion would have been killed by now. Pendulums swinging, Zaveid launched a gust of wind towards the hellion, which nimbly avoided it and charged yet again at him. He rolled to the side, scraping his wound on the rough ground and  _ shit _ , that hurt. The hellion's claws must have done more damage than Zaveid originally thought.

It’d do no good for his reputation or for his Shepherd if he got done in by a simple hellion, though, so Zaveid pushed himself up and once again, swiped his pendulum through the air. This time, it didn’t miss, carving a line of red through the hellion’s fur. It hissed and the pain seemed to drive it forward as opposed to convince it to run. Well, if it wanted to die so badly, so be it.

Zaveid began casting a spell, intent on finishing the hellion, but before he could finish, a wave of fire came from within Pendrago, washing over the hellion and drowning it in an ethereal glow under the moonlight. Ah, shit. That fire could mean only one thing.

“Hey, Lailah. How’s it going?” Zaveid raised his left hand in greeting. Lailah came into view from behind a wall, papers clutched tightly in hand. He hadn't even heard her approach nor prepare the spell. The flames vanished to reveal not a hellion, but a scrawny dog. 

“Zaveid, should I ask what you were doing out here this late at night?” Lailah completely ignored Zaveid as she walked over to the dog. She stroked its fur and the dog’s tail gave a weak wag.

“Oh, you know me.” Zaveid replied, as nonchalantly as possible. Hopefully she wouldn’t ask him to elaborate because he had no idea how to. Step one of his plan had passed. He’d stopped the hellion (with a little bit of help). Now, step two: get back to the inn and find some gels to use so Lailah wouldn’t start freaking out. “Welp, looks like my work here is done. I should really get going—”

“Not so fast, Zaveid.” Lailah said, low, firm, completely unyielding. Like child being scolded, Zaveid remained put. “I can see the blood.”

“It’s just a scratch. Nothing a single gel can’t fix.” Or a couple. But Lailah didn’t need to know that.

“I’ll be the judge of that.” Lailah rose and the dog, seemingly fine for something that just tried to kill Zaveid, trotted along peacefully, its tongue lolling out the side of its mouth. Lailah stalked over to Zaveid and instinctively, he turned his injured arm away.”

“I’m telling you, Lailah, I’m  _ fine.  _ Sheesh, you’re acting like my mother.”

Wrong thing to say, for Lailah glared at him, grabbed his arm (more tightly than an injured arm should have been handled, if Zaveid had to be honest), and began looking over his injuries. She gasped, lightly touching her fingers to the wound. Though her touch was as gentle as a spring breeze, Zaveid flinched.

“Zaveid, this isn’t a scratch. What happened?”

Zaveid pointed to the dog sitting happily by Lailah. “That did. It caught me by surprise, to put it short.”

“Come on. I’m taking you back to the inn.” Lailah said, still clutching Zaveid’s arm. Yep, this was  _ exactly  _ why he didn’t want her to find out.

He’d be lying, though, if he said he didn’t crave Lailah’s touch, even if he only had it because she was dragging him down the empty streets of Pendrago. 

Once in the inn, Lailah sat him down in Sorey and Rose’s shared room, Mikleo and Edna residing within Sorey. The two humans were still fast asleep and the other two seraphim were too, he assumed. They did have a long day, fighting hellions nonstop. Why was Lailah awake? She'd been working hard the entire time, alternating between purifying and healing. Zaveid was no expert on either of those, but from the looks of it, they looked strenuous. She’d left him alone in the room and upon coming back, had a wet washcloth in hand.

“Here,” Lailah said. “I’m going to clean the blood from your wound. It may hurt a bit.”

“Ah, please. I’ve had worse.” Zaveid offered his arm to Lailah, who began dabbing at his arm with the cloth, staining it pink, then red. Water trickled down his arm as he watched Lailah concentrate, eyebrows furrowed and jaw clenched.

“Lailah? Is everything alright? It’s not that bad, y’know. It doesn’t hurt at all.”

“That’s not it, Zaveid.” Lailah said.

“Then what is it, pray tell?” Zaveid asked. Lailah kept herself from answering by whispering the incantation for a healing spell instead, a white glow enveloping his arm. Warmth rushed into his arm, chasing away the pain and replacing it with a simple ache. There was a tiny scar, one that would fade with time left behind. Zaveid whistled, quietly enough so not to wake the sleeping humans. “Wow, nice job. I guess I owe you one.”

“Zaveid…” Lailah set the washcloth on a table with a sigh. “You need to be more careful.”

“Where’s the fun in that?” Zaveid joked, but no smile crossed Lailah’s lips.

“I’m being serious, Zaveid! Why must you be so reckless? It’s too dangerous to wander alone where there are hellions about, even for somebody as strong as you.”

“As strong as me? Wow, this must be my lucky day, to be complimented by such a fair woman like yourself.”

“Zaveid, please!” Lailah pleaded and okay, she was not having any of his banter. Got it. Time to drop the cheerful facade then. “You may not think anything of it, but we worry about you! It hurts us to see you in pain like this. All of us! We don’t want you to have to do everything alone, you know.”

“I know that. Isn’t that why I’m travelling with you guys now?”

“Yes, but that doesn’t mean you can go around getting into fights without telling any of us!”

“I wasn’t looking for a fight,” Zaveid protested. “I wanted to go for a walk, then that dog came and attacked me out of nowhere.”

“What if I hadn’t been awake? What if I decided to leave you behind and stay back at the inn? What then, Zaveid?” Lailah said and Zaveid then noticed that her hand was still on his arm, albeit now it was gripping his wrist with more force than ever. “You could have been hurt much worse or even killed!”

“Lailah…”

“We’ve already lost Dezel, we — I don’t want to lose you too, Zaveid.” Lailah dropped his gaze and hoo boy. For all that he loved to flirt, Zaveid had absolutely  _ no  _ idea how to console a tearful woman. Maybe he did, once upon a time, but that was hundreds of years ago and he was an entirely different person now.

“I… shit, I didn’t think about it like that, I guess. Sorry, I didn’t mean to worry you all.” Zaveid groaned. “You’re right, I should try trusting you guys a bit more, but…”

“I understand. It’s difficult to trust sometimes, especially for seraphim who have lived as long as we have, but it is important to remember that there are people worth trusting.”

Zaveid nodded. “Yeah… yeah, I’ll keep that in mind. Thanks, Lailah. I’ll keep that in mind for the future.”

“I know you don’t like staying in one spot for too long, but if you feel the urge to wander around at night again, can you at least tell one of us beforehand?”

“Yeah, will do.” Zaveid slid his hand out of Lailah’s grip, curling it so that their fingers were entwined, his hands so calloused and rough compared to Lailah’s softness. “It’ll be nice to know that I have somebody watching over me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: I'll be getting a lot of prompts from here: http://drawthisshitt.tumblr.com/post/139845445109/there-you-go-draw-your-otp-and-have-fun-i-am-not in case you were wondering.


	2. Day 2: Braids

“Zaveid..?” Lailah struggled to hold back a laugh as Zaveid, dripping wet, stumbled into the inn room. His hair, usually so luxurious, was hanging down his back in wet clumps, creating pools of water on the floor. He really did look a poor puppy left out in the rain.

“I was teasing our dear water seraph a little bit too much, it seems.” Zaveid tugged at a strand of hair. “Geez, it’s gonna take  _ forever  _ to fix it. How can he not respect the amount of effort I put into keeping my hair as beautiful as possible?” He wailed, dramatically draping himself over a chair. Really now, he was making a fuss out of nothing. It was quite the opposite actually— she rarely, if ever, saw Zaveid tending to his hair, leaving it up to the wind to style it (Admittedly, the wind did a fair job of it).

Lailah only smiled and shook her head. “Here, I’ll fix it for you.”

“Really? You’re a lifesaver, Lailah.” Zaveid sat up in his chair. “Be gentle with it, will you? But I don’t think I need to tell you that.” He added, eyeing Lailah’s own hair, always kept prim and proper.

“Don’t worry,” Lailah said as she rummaged through Rose’s bag left on her bed, pulling out a hairbrush and an assortment of clips. “I’ll make it look better than ever!”

“Are you saying that my hair doesn’t look  _ that _ good normally?”

“Perhaps you would attract more women if you brushed your hair more often.” Lailah set her tools down and gathered Zaveid’s hair in her hands, water running down her arms. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, then summoned a flame that travelled along Zaveid’s hair, drying it out as it went. 

“That’s harsh, Lailah.” Zaveid said, then he stretched. “It does feel a lot better to have dry hair.”

“Hold still! I’m not done yet.” Lailah grabbed the hairbrush and began drawing it through his hair. Her movements were gentle, carefully making her way through the snaggle of hair. Even with all that, Zaveid never felt more than a light jolt as Lailah worked her way through. Soon, she was pulling the brush through his hair without any resistance and Zaveid leaned back, closing his eyes.

Perhaps Lailah had the wrong animal. He seemed less like a dog and more like a kitten. She wouldn’t be surprised if he started purring.

She set the brush down and, once again, gathered his hair into her hand. Zaveid tried to look back, but she gave him a quick smack on the head.

“Hey, what’re you doing?”

“Wait and see!”

Zaveid’s hair really was beautiful, Lailah thought as she carefully wove his hair into a braid. It was long and unkempt, tousled by the wind, but somehow, it suited him. Only Zaveid could make a supposed mess look so good. Even once, she’d like to see how it looked when tamed. Unbeknownst to Zaveid, however, Lailah was planting flowers in his braid, entwining the vines and his hair.

She finished off by tying the end of the braid and, after taking a moment to admire her handiwork, said, “There. That should do the trick!”

“A braid..? I dunno if they suit me,” Zaveid raised a hand to feel the braid, stopping when his fingers ran over the silken petals of a flower. “What did you put in here?”

“Flowers.” Lailah responded simply.

Zaveid chuckled. “Flowers, huh? Well, if you’re the one who put them in, I can’t say there’s anything wrong with that. Think the ladies are gonna love this?” He said, tossing his braid over his shoulder.

“I know for sure there’s one lady who loves it,” Lailah hummed. Zaveid gaped, and the door to the inn slammed wide open, Sorey in tow with the others coming in behind them. He stopped, nearly dropping the bag of supplies he had in hand, studying Zaveid.

“Hey, Shepherd.” Zaveid said casually. “Hey, Mikkey-boy. Think my hair looks good?”

Mikleo huffed. “Much better than it usually does. You did a wonderful job, Lailah. It must have taken a lot of effort to deal with Zaveid’s hair.”

“I should thank you too, Mikleo,” Lailah said. “I don’t often get the opportunity to style somebody’s hair.”

“I suppose I’ll have to keep teasing Mikkey-boy, if getting soaked means I get special treatment from Lailah.” Zaveid said with a wink. Thankfully, he was spared from getting another Twin Flow to the face, Mikleo unwilling to damage Lailah’s work.

The next day, however, his braid had fallen loose during the night and without the influence of Mikleo, he approached Lailah with the request for a new hairstyle. She only laughed told Zaveid to stay still as she, once again, fixed up his hair. Soon, it became a custom for Zaveid to come to Lailah after a particularly long day or battle, hairbrush in hand, under the guise of, “It’s easier to let her take care of my hair.” 

Edna’s inquiring looks told a different story and it wasn’t long before she was teasing Zaveid about his not-so-little crush on Lailah, accompanied by tugs on his hair.

Zaveid never complained. Hey, if she messed up his hair, it’d give him a good excuse to get Lailah to fix his hair again.


	3. Day 3: Mornings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can view this as a modern AU or not, it's not really specified. I actually wrote something like this for my OCs some time ago and I modified it to fit Zaveid and Lailah. Enjoy~!

Lailah blinked once, twice, her sight greeted by sunlight streaming in through an open window, curtains billowing in the wind. Behind her, Zaveid was dozing soundly, still stuck in the dregs of sleep. One of his arms was wrapped around Lailah, the other on his stomach. Yawning, Lailah snuggled closer, desperate to recapture the warmth of his body that was fading into the cool morning.

What time was it? She must have slept in, if the sun were that bright. If only she could shut her eyes and go back to sleep, but there was much to be done. And so, Lailah carefully wormed her away out of Zaveid’s grip, sitting up on the bed and struggling to comb through the tangled mess that was her hair.

Zaveid stirred behind her, yawning and rubbing his eyes. He peered at Lailah through half-closed eyelids. “Mornin’,” he said, voice rough with sleep.

“Morning.” Lailah replied. “Did I wake you up? I’m sorry.”

“Nah, you didn’t.” He groaned, stretching and flexing his arms, and  _ no,  _ Lailah was certainly  _ not  _ staring at his muscles. She turned her attention to the window instead. “What time is it?”

“I’m not sure. It must be around midday. We should get up.”

“You’re getting up already?”

“I have some work to do. You should— Zaveid!” Lailah squeaked, letting out a cry of surprise as Zaveid wrapped his arms around her waist and dragged her back down into bed. He buried his face in her hair as he pulled her close. Lailah pushed against his torso, albeit with no force behind her hands. “I need to go!”

“You can stay here a lil’ longer.”

“Somebody is expecting me soon,” Lailah protested, though she leaned into Zaveid’s body nonetheless.

“They can wait.” Zaveid pecked the top of Lailah’s head. “Come on, when was the last time you slept in?”

Lailah sighed in response, Zaveid slowly tracing patterns on her back, his eyes already closed. She breathed in lavender-scented bed sheets, Zaveid's sun kissed skin and relaxed her body, anchored by Zaveid's tight, yet comforting hold. Their room was quiet and outside, the low chatter of voices filled the air, accompanied by a symphony of birds. It all seemed so far away, like they were enclosed in their own safe little bubble from the outside world.

Perhaps he was right, Lailah thought. It wouldn’t hurt to stay in bed for a little while longer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll try to update around 8pm EST everyday. Let's see if I can keep this up!


	4. Day 4: Dinner

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This takes place in a modern AU. Enjoy!

The doorbell rang at exactly six o’clock. Damn, they were punctual. Waiting outside was Sorey and Mikleo, both of whom waved in greeting. Zaveid made room for them to enter. “Hey guys, come in, come in! What’s in that bag you’re holding, Mikster?”

“Some cooking tools you don’t have and a couple of other things like—” Mikleo rummaged through the bag and pulled out a candle, flourishing it proudly. “—these!”

“Candles?” Zaveid said dubiously. He took the candle and raised it to his noise. Huh. It smelled of cinnamon. “Whoa, now, it’s just a simple date.”

“Don’t you want it to be romantic?” Sorey asked. “I thought candles were the perfect thing for romantic dinners.”

“Yeah, but not  _ that  _ romantic. That’s too… formal.”

“Zaveid!” Mikleo called from the kitchen.  _ When did he..?  _ “You’re gonna have to hurry if you want the food to be cooked before Lailah arrives!”

“Relax, Mickey-boy. We’ve got two hours, that’s plenty of time!”

* * *

 

Or not.

Who knew pasta could be such a  _ bitch  _ to cook? Zaveid, Sorey and Mikleo spent the better part of an hour scrambling around Zaveid’s cramped kitchen, knocking elbows and stepping on feet, hearing Mikleo’s cries of, “No! You’re adding too much pepper!” and “Somebody, check the stove! It’s going to burn!”

Eventually, Mikleo shooed them out, leaving Zaveid and Sorey to set the table and clean up the rest of the house, which didn’t end up being much better.

“Geez, when did you become such a neat freak?”

“Mikleo,” was all Sorey said in response. “Zaveid, you missed a spot.”

It wasn’t long before Sorey, too, shooed Zaveid away from his cleaning. “You should get dressed,” he said. “You can’t go to your date smelling like Windex.”

* * *

 

Geez. He was a stranger in his own house, but there was no room to complain. After all, if it weren’t for those two, he’d be helpless. All that was left to do was get dressed. A suit? No, that was too formal. Zaveid dug through his wardrobe, looking for anything that wouldn’t make him look like a bum. Shit, he should have asked Eizen for some clothes. Wait— didn’t Eizen lend him something months back?

Zaveid renewed his search in a new frenzy, at long last finding his prize hanging at the back of his closet. A black blazer, still in pretty good condition for something that hadn’t been worn in ages. Alright, he could work with that. A black blazer (with a white undershirt) and black khakis? Zaveid laid the outfit on his bed, spending a moment looking it over.

“Zaveid? You ready?” Sorey shouted.

7:40pm

Twenty minutes until Lailah would arrive. No time to rethink his outfit. Zaveid quickly stripped himself of his previous clothes and threw on the new outfit. He looked decent enough in the mirror, but the clothes themselves were uncomfortable, too stiff for his liking. It looked formal, but his outfit didn't make him look like, well, Zaveid. The one who asked Lailah out. Hopefully she'd appreciate the change in demeanor. 

He ran a hairbrush through his hair and with a few spritzes of cologne, opened his room door and made his way through his house. The tasty smell of grilled chicken and pasta wafted from the kitchen and the floors were scrubbed clean, sparkling in the fading sunset. Damn, they did a good job.

Mikleo and Sorey were already preparing to leave when he entered the kitchen. There were a couple of dishes left in the sink, but for the most part, everything was presentable.

“I’ve already set the table,” Mikleo said. “The food’s already there.”

“And we’ve cleaned most of what we could,” Sorey took a hesitant glance towards the sink. “We left the candles, too, just in case you want to use them.”

“You guys are  _ amazing _ , did I ever tell you that? I don't know what I would have done without you!” Zaveid exclaimed, throwing his arms around their shoulders. Mikleo was the first to push him away. 

“Yeah, yeah. Just don’t screw up our hard work and let it all go to waste."

7:50pm

They made their way over to the front door and with one last round of goodbyes, Sorey and Mikleo bounded off with Sorey’s yell of, “Tell us how it goes!” fading into the air. Ten minutes. Ten minutes until she’d arrive. Zaveid ran back to the dining room, checking over the table.

Two plates were set on opposite sides, the food (pasta, grilled chicken and a plain salad) was already arranged on the dining plates. Drinks, he was missing drinks! Zaveid rushed to the kitchen, threw open a cupboard and pulled out a bottle of wine. He’d been saving it for a special occasion and this was as special as any occasion could get.

7:55pm

Two wine glasses and the bottle found their way to the table. Then, after a moment, Zaveid added the candles gifted to him as well. He’d just finished lighting the last one when the doorbell rang.

8:00pm

Lailah was here.


	5. Day 5: Baking

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's another modern AU (you can read it as an extension to Day 4, if you want).
> 
> Enjoy~!

Sugar and flour dusted the counters like snow with tiny mountains of chocolate chips scattered about. Drawers were left open, the sink was piled with dishes and there were crumbs of all kinds on the ground. The kitchen was a disaster, and Lailah loved it.

A messy kitchen was a sign that there was something good in the making. In this case, it happened to be chocolate-chip cookies. Zaveid had came over earlier with an offer of help, his enthusiasm making up for his general sloppiness with the food. 

“I can see you,” Lailah said. Zaveid stopped, tongue hanging in the air barely an inch from some cookie dough he’d picked up. “Stop trying to eat the dough, or there’ll be no more left for the cookies. Besides, you’re going to get sick.”

“It’ll be worth it. Just one piece?

She shook her head and Zaveid reluctantly began to continue shaping the bits of dough into what was supposed to be in the shape of a cookie. Lailah focused on wiping down the counters. Her dishrag was painted white as she brushed it over the flour, while the chocolate chips found their way into her mouth. Idle conversation peppered with variations of, “Stop trying to eat the dough!” filled the air, until they were interrupted when the oven pinged.

Lailah was beside Zaveid’s side in an instant. “Have you finished making all the cookies?”

“Yep. All that’s left is to throw it in the oven.” Zaveid picked up the tray with one hand and with the other, pulled open the oven door. Heat brushed against Lailah’s cheeks, a terrible reminder that Zaveid was...

“Zaveid,  _ wait!”  _ Lailah cried out. Zaveid flinched, nearly dropping the tray.

“What is it? Did we forget something? Did I do something wrong?” He looked from the oven, to the tray, to the mess left on the counter, searching for the source of Lailah’s shrill call.

“You didn’t put your oven mitts on!”

“Lailah,” Zaveid said, clearly exasperated. “I”m not taking the tray out, I’m putting it in. I won’t be touching anything hot.”

“Still!” Lailah insisted. “You never know when something may go wrong. Here.”

Thankfully, Zaveid listened, more to humor Lailah over actually being worried over his safety. If there was one thing that Lailah wished Zaveid would change about himself, it was his recklessness.

The tray and cookies made their way into the oven safely, the door shut, timer set and mitts thrown back onto the counter. They leaned back, watching the cookies in the oven, Zaveid resting the side of his head on Lailah’s.

At last, Lailah spoke. “We should finish cleaning everything up.”

“After all that? I think we deserve a bit of a break.” Zaveid murmured into Lailah’s ear, voice hot and heavy. His fingers tilted her chin upwards to meet his lips for a kiss, Lailah’s thumb moving to caress Zaveid’s cheek. She sighed into the kiss. It tasted of bitter chocolate chips.

...And cookie dough.

She’ll forgive him, though. Just this once.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (if you can't tell i don't know how to write romance- in my eyes at least. what is a kiss. how u write one. this is partly why i'm doing this challenge: i need to practice writing looooove uwaaaaah)


	6. Day 6: Ice

The snow had came unexpectedly, falling in large clumps and while the sight was beautiful, it was  _ cold.  _ Very, very cold— for the humans, at least. They’d fought their way through growing mounds of snow and hellions jumping at them from every corner, until Rose caught eye of a cave. The nearest town was too far, this was their only hope.

It was free of malevolence, but had a draft and dirt floors— poor substitutes for beds, but it had to do. Edna erected stones to block most of the cave’s entrance, while Lailah started a fire burning in the center of the cave, Sorey and Rose chattering their thanks under bundles of cloaks. Zaveid offered to watch the entrance of the cave and the others were too cold to care to complain.

The humans fell asleep easily. Mikleo, too, for that matter. Poor him. The hellions they met were strong against water and ice, which only made Mikleo work harder to do any sort of damage. Lailah had it easy. A quick flick of the wrist, a tiny flame, and those hellions were  _ poof!  _

It didn’t take long before Edna gave up on lying on the floor and went back to residing within Sorey’s body, leaving Lailah and Zaveid alone. No, not quite. Lailah was the only one awake in the cave. Zaveid was still outside.

The snow was falling faster in the night sky, blocking out the stars. Zaveid was casually leaning against the rocky outer walls of the cave, ignoring the way the howling wind whipped at his hair. Lailah didn’t stick her head out — it would take  _ hours  _ to brush out all those tangles — yet Zaveid recognized her presence. Even in this storm, he read the wind as easily as Sorey reads those ah,  _ unique  _ romance novels.

“Checking up on me, are you? I’m not gonna leave. Promise.”

“That wasn’t it…” Lailah had to speak up to be heard over the wind. Hopefully the others wouldn’t wake up. “I wanted to see how you were doing. Don’t you want to come inside? I’m sure it’ll be more comfortable.”

She heard Zaveid shuffling. “Hm, you may be right about that. It’s so cold out here,  _ I’m  _ feeling it. And I think a lovely fire seraph like yourself—” Zaveid appeared in front of the entrance of the cave, his typical grin painted on his face. “—wouldn’t mind helping me warm up a little.”

“If you’d put a shirt on, you wouldn’t be so cold.”

“Good thing I’m a seraph and I can’t get cold.”

“I suppose there’s no need for me to warm you up, then.”

“Damn,” Zaveid rubbed the back of his head. “I dug myself into that one, huh.”

“There’s still room for you inside.” Lailah moved over. Zaveid didn't budge.

“I’ll be fine out here.”

“Are you worrying if the others will mind?” Even if they would worry, they were all fast asleep. Nothing much they could do.“There’s snow way they’d mind at all!”

“I don’t like being closed in! It’s a wind seraph thing. I’d rather be out here with this beautiful breeze.” As if on cue, a particularly strong gust of wind blew, sending Zaveid’s hair askew. “See? What’d I tell ya. But y’know, I wouldn’t mind being out here with a certain beautiful lady, as well.”

“You may enjoy the wind, Zaveid, but I am not a fan of it.” Lailah sighed. This was a fruitless task. Stubbornness was not something to be fought in the middle of the night during a snowstorm. “If something happens, be sure to tell us.”

“Right on.” Zaveid lazily saluted and he vanished into the snow flurries once again. Once back in the depths of the cave, Lailah stared at the entrance, waiting for Zaveid to come inside. He never did. 

Strong were the walls of ice he kept around his heart and Lailah’s flame did little to melt them.  _ Oh, Zaveid.  _ He was new to their group, but they trusted him and saw him as one of their own, despite all that happened in the past.

If only he could see it himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can seraphim feel cold / hot? I forgot if they could... =O=;; (also hello what is romance?? i promised romance and i provided this. ahaa. ha. ....aaaaa)


	7. Day 7: Drunk

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Modern AU again! Lailah and Zaveid aren't in a relationship here, but Lailah's pining for Zaveid, while Zaveid... ah, you'll see~

It was a phonecall from Eizen, which was rare enough. That was the first thing that made Lailah curious— and the slightest bit uneasy.

“Are you busy? It’s about Zaveid.”

That was the second thing.

“I’m not busy right now. What is it? Is it an emergency?”

A sigh answered her. “Kind of. But not really. He’s just drunk out of his mind. Again.”

“...Oh,” Lailah said awkwardly. She was no stranger to Zaveid when he was drunk, but it wasn’t like he was dangerous or reckless or anything. The worst thing he did was flirt, which he did while sober, too. Then again, his flirting  _ was  _ the worst. Not because his pick-up lines were bad, but because he didn’t understand how badly Lailah wanted his words to be true. Why must Zaveid be such a tease all the time? “Er, may I ask why you called to tell me this?”

“He usually doesn’t get this drunk, especially this early in the day.” Lailah checked over her phone. It was half past six. “I’m at work right now. The only reason I found out he was drunk was because he called me. He could barely string together a cohesive sentence. I’d check on him myself, but I can’t exactly leave.”

“So you want me to go, instead.”

“If you don’t want to, you don’t need to. It’s your choice.”

“No, no. I’ll do it. I’m worried about Zaveid, too.”

“Thanks, Lailah. I know it’s not easy for you and all, but I didn’t want to bother Edna and I can’t think of anyone else I’d trust around Zaveid when he’s like this.”

“Don’t mention it. I’ll be over at his place as soon as I can and text you about everything. Goodbye, Eizen.”

“Thanks again, and good luck. You’ll need it.”

Eizen hung up. Lailah stared at her phone screen, wondering what she brought herself into.

* * *

 

Eizen, Edna and Zaveid all shared a flat, a quaint home that felt more like a museum, what with all of Eizen’s decorations strung up on display. There was no sound coming from inside, so Lailah rung the doorbell. Nobody came, as expected. Edna and Eizen weren’t home and if Zaveid was as drunk as Eizen said, there was no way he’d be able to make it to the door. She tried a couple more times, eventually giving up and turning the doorknob.

It was unlocked, leading the way to a dark house. Lailah slipped her shoes off, peering into the kitchen, the dining room and the hallway. Zaveid’s bedroom door was wide open. As she got closer, the stench of alcohol only grew stronger. Its source, Zaveid, lying in the center of his bed, surrounded by bottles of alcohol.

Lailah stepped over piles of clothes, sitting on the edge of his bed. Zaveid was unconscious, yet he still clung to a bottle of alcohol in hand with more strength than a sleeping man should have had. Lailah tentatively touched his arm, running a finger along too-warm skin. “...Zaveid? Are you awake?”

Zaveid roused. “Don’ touch me…” he slurred, weakly batting away her hand.

“Sorry.” Lailah withdrew her hand. “Can you hear me alright? Eizen asked me to check on you.”

“‘Sfine. Leave Eizen outta this.”

“You’re not fine, Zavied. I’m going to help you get cleaned up. Is that okay?” Get the bottles of alcohol off his bed, open a window to air out the room and tuck him into bed. That sounded easy enough. He was in desperate need of a shower, but that was something he could do when he sobered up. Himself. Despite herself, Lailah blushed at the thought of Zaveid in the shower and quickly busied herself with prying the alcohol bottle from Zaveid’s fingers.

He groaned something incomprehensible in response and let the bottle go. He didn’t move or speak as Lailah flitted around the room, picking up the bottles. Once she reached the door, Zaveid spoke again. “Don’ go. Ssstay here. Wit me.”

“I’ll be back.”

“No… wait,” Zaveid said, but he made no sign of disappointment when Lailah left, disposing the empty bottles in the kitchen and leaving the full ones in Eizen’s room. He’d decide what to do with them. She came back inside to find Zaveid face-down on his bed.

“You came back.” Through the haze of alcohol and the pillow he spoke through, Lailah almost didn’t catch it.

“I said I’d come back, didn’t I?”

“Yeah… y’see? Eizen’s so stupid,” Zaveid said, drawing out the ‘u’. “Y’know what - what he said? He said you wouldn’ta come back. But you came back. See? I - I told him you weren’t gone. You’re not gone.”

“Yes, I did come back.” Lailah said. He continued mumbling into the pillow as Lailah plucked garbage from the ground. She may as well. Zaveid never cleaned and perhaps he’d appreciate the effort.  _ And you,  _ a nasty voice in the back of Lailah’s head said.

When she left Zaveid’s room, he didn’t say anything, and she returned with a glass of water from the kitchen for his eventual hangover. 

He had a desk sitting next to his bed, messy, papers strewn about. She went to push some away to place the glass down, then stopped.

Oh. They weren’t just papers.

They were pictures.

Of Theodora.

Ah. Of course Zaveid would get this drunk for this reason. However, if it truly were the anniversary, Eizen would have remembered and stayed back. Or Edna, even. What could have triggered Zaveid to go drinking like this? For the memories to have hit him that hard…

His smile was so wide in the photos, brighter than the sun. The camera captured sparkles in his eyes and Lailah only fell more in love with him as she looked through the photos. But it wasn’t Lailah he was smiling for.

Lailah carefully set the photos aside and set the glass of water on the empty space, where no liquid would reach the photos if — when? — Zaveid were to knock the glass over. The glass clinked as it met wood and Zaveid’s eyes opened to the sound. He turned his gaze to Lailah with glassy eyes.

“What… what’re you doin’..?”

“It’s for later. Here, I’m going to fix your pillows now.” She lifted his head, sliding a pillow underneath. The blankets, which were in a heap on the ground, were pulled up over his body. It was like she was tucking in a child for bed. Zaveid, the entire time, opened and closed his eyes, the effort to stay awake sapping what small strength he had left.

Lailah pushed Zaveid’s hair out of his face, wiping his forehead and Zaveid lifted his hand to catch Lailah’s. He grasped her hand so suddenly, Lailah nearly backed away in shock, but he held her tight. “You’re gon’ stay here, right?”

“If that’s what you wish.” Lailah didn’t try pulling away again, the pathetic look in Zaveid’s eyes too pitying to ignore.

“Good. Don’ leave me again, ‘kay, Theo?”

Lailah’s blood froze in her veins.

“Theo? Whas wrong?”

“...Nothing.” Lailah whispered. “Nothing at all.”

“Thas good. You’re gon’ stay, right?”

“Yes. I’ll always be with you, Zaveid.” Lailah tore her eyes away from Zaveid, hiding the tears threatening to spill. She was amazed at how calm her voice was. It was only when the alcohol dragged Zaveid back to unconsciousness did those tears finally fall, unseen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The prompts that I used to help encourage me to write, the ones in the end notes for chapter 1, said "Wedding day" was the prompt for day 7. ...I said "naaah" and tormented Lailah instead. I'm sorrynotsorry o^o
> 
> ..Remember last chapter, how I said I'd try to write more actual romantic romance? ...Yeah, I... you can see why I'm trying to practice writing romance. Baby steps, baby steps. Maybe somebody I can write romance and not my current idea of romance, "make everybody sad instead".


	8. Day 8: Wind

Zaveid was a lot like the wind.

He was made of cold gusts that could cut like a knife and threatened to knock down houses. He was made of warm breezes that would caress your skin on sunny days. Like the wind, he was never to be found in one place for long, always travelling in search of new places.

Lailah never left Ladylake after they defeated Heldalf and Sorey began purifying the land. She’d venture as far as Elysia, but she remained in the town, watching it grow as the years went by. She was foolish, perhaps, to pursue a relationship with Zaveid. He was a flirting mess who craved freedom, rough and reckless. He had a foul mouth and enjoyed the chaos of life, compared to Lailah, who’d made it her duty to keep the land calm.

He was a bad influence and role model that got drunk a little too often and he instigated fights faster than his injuries would heal (he’d win them too, but that was besides the point). He lacked manners in many regards (honestly, Zaveid, that was  _ not  _ the way to speak to a princess!) and struggled with keeping friends close (after all he’d been through, Lailah couldn’t blame him).

People called Lailah foolish for pursuing a relationship with Zaveid, who often left (once, for nearly a hundred years) but,

He always came back, sooner or later, with stories of grandeur and the same love he held for her burning as bright as ever. He was a flirting, rough and reckless man and Lailah wouldn’t change a thing about him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit of a shorter, blander read for now. My motivation for writing has not quite disappeared, it's just in pieces now. I don't know how it broke, but I'm trying to work with it. Anyways, I was thinking about Zaveid and Lailah's elements. A flame's biggest enemy is the wind, no? One strong gust and out goes the flame. But, a fire needs wind to grow. Ever gently blew on a fire to make it larger?
> 
> I wooonder how this applies to Zavelai~


	9. Day 9: Dinner (Version Two)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oops, some stuff came up and I couldn't get any writing done. If I don't post one day, don't worry, I'll make up for it later, when I have a little spare time. This chapter offers Lailah's POV on Day 4's prompt. Without further ado, here is the late update~!

**Early Bloomer**

_ ‘it’s not too late to back out now’ _

Lailah tossed her phone to her bed with a lighthearted chuckle. Despite Edna’s — and Eizen’s, for that matter — insistence, she was determined to go through with Zaveid’s request for a date. It came quite out of the blue, most likely said as a joke. Oh, but the flabbergasted expression Zaveid had when she said yes was far too funny! For a charming man, he certainly was unused to having his words reciprocated.

Lailah could only hope that his idea for a date wasn’t as bad as his pick-up lines. He’d asked her to come over at eight in the evening, a dinner for just the two of them. She’d been to his place once or twice, though it was never just them alone.

Her phone sang from the bed. Another text?

_ ‘so you’re going through with it’ _

_ ‘Indeed I am!’ _

Lailah could hear Edna’s exasperation through her texts. Sadly, her expression when Lailah told her of the date wasn’t as interesting as Zaveid’s.

_ ‘I question your taste in men’ _

_ ‘what are you gonna wear?’ _

_ ‘Nothing too fancy! I was thinking of wearing my usual.’ _

_ ‘a dress? Which one?’ _

_ ‘I don’t think you’ve seen it before.’ _

_ ‘Let me take a photo for you. Hold on a second~’ _

Fresh out of the dryer, strung on a hanger on her closet door, was a simple floral dress, white patterned with red and blue flowers with, of course, endless frills and lace. Considering the time of the date, Lailah had also decided on a cardigan to wear over top to keep herself warm. If Zaveid had asked her out on an outdoor date, there was no doubt that he would have offered her his jacket. Alas, it was indoors, so Lailah was left with the cardigan.

Lailah snapped a photo and sent it to Edna, who looked at it immediately after it was sent. Oh, my, was she waiting that eagerly for it?

_ ‘looks good’ _

That was the best compliment anybody would ever get out of Edna.

_ ‘It’s beautiful, isn’t it?  _ _ ♥’ _

_ ‘I’m sure zaveid will appreciate it’ _

_ ‘I hope he will~’ _

_ ‘Oopsies! Look at the time! It’s past 7’ _

_ ‘I should be getting ready. I’ll talk to you later~!’ _

_ ‘have fun’ _

It took less than 15 minutes for Lailah to pull her outfit together and fix her hair in its usual style. With her purse in hand, she exited her house, enjoying the brisk breeze on her skin. Her date was at eight, much later, but a good walk outside would do her good. Hopefully she wouldn’t get too distracted by the sights and fall late of their agreed time.

Hopefully, by eight, the butterflies in her stomach would have calmed down.


	10. Day 10: Umbrella

_ Rain, rain, go away. _

_ Please don’t come back another day. _

It’d been raining non-stop for how long now? Lailah was almost wishing for the snow and the cold of winter to come back. Spring was a time meant for rebirth and new beginnings— but how could any flower bloom under this torrential downpour? 

Rain should have been something beautiful to see and listen to, but the gray cloudy skies hid the sun’s brightness and darkened the world, including Lailah’s mood. No cute spring outfits, no bright green buds on trees, no birds chirping, nothing but the steady  _ pitter-patter  _ of rain that seemed determined to drown the streets. She couldn’t go on walks anymore, not when puddles decorated the sidewalks and mud clung to her best rainboots.

Perhaps her complaints were that noticeable, for it was one day, out of the blue, that Zaveid arrived at her house, an umbrella in hand.

“Would you care to walk with me?” He’d said, offering a spot under his umbrella, one that was far too small for the both of them to squeeze under properly. He’d wrapped an arm around her waist as they trod through the wet world outdoors, listening to the steady beat of raindrops on the umbrella and, Lailah thought, maybe the rain wasn’t so bad after all.


	11. Day 11: Shepherd

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Post-Game! I'm not sure how long it's been. A couple hundred years at most, and Sorey's still asleep, that lazy boy.

Her name was Vela and, true to her namesake, she was as bright as the stars.

Was.

She was a powerful Shepherd who fought with a short sword, faster than light in battle as she would cut down hellions. Vela had trained to be a Shepherd under Lailah since she was a child and perhaps that’s why she had a tendency to dance around in battle, weaving past sharp claws and fangs with elegance fit for a ballroom. She was always moving, never being able to sit still for longer than a minute and she channeled that energy into her duties as a Shepherd.

She was full of so much life.

Vela’s laugh sounded like windchimes and she loved spending time around children. Her desire to protect rivaled that of a certain someone’s and passion burned in her eyes when she spoke of protecting the world against malevolence. She purified so many, saved so many.

Lailah couldn’t save her.

It all happened so quickly. They were in ruins  _ (how that brought back memories),  _ searching for the source of malevolence emitting from it. The malevolence wasn’t strong and Lailah, fooled by Vela’s self-assurance, thought it was wise to wander inside, just the two of them.

Where did the hellion come from? They found the source of the malevolence too quickly and it was too difficult to fight in such narrow corridors. Narrow, ancient, debilitated corridors. The hellion swung its fist against a wall and Vela, always so nimble, leaped away to avoid it. Then the roof began caving in.

Rocks fell and though they tried to run. Vela wasn’t quick enough. A boulder landed first on her back, then her legs, and she was trapped.

She died with tears running down her cheeks and a smile on her lips.

She was sitting by Vela for how long? Somewhere in the distance, water dripped and the corridors were too empty without Vela’s voice, her breaths, her heartbeat. Lailah had tried healing spell after healing spell until she nearly collapsed and Vela didn’t get up. She didn’t open her eyes.

Then there were footsteps behind her  _ (another sign of life? It felt like an eternity since Lailah last saw life)  _ and she didn’t move. If the hellion came back to finish her off, then let it. It’s what she deserved. Vela was the—

_ “Shit _ _!_ Lailah, are you alright?! I came as soon as I could. Are you alright?”

Slowly, slowly, she turned her head and Zaveid was running towards her, skipping over rocks and debris that littered the ground. Lailah didn’t answer and then Zaveid’s eyes found Vela, stained with blood.

He didn’t need to lift a finger to her neck to feel for a pulse. Her skin was pale and shallow and the elements were already starting to take Vela away. How long had Lailah been sitting there for?

“Lailah,” Zaveid said again, his voice gentle, like speaking to a cornered animal. “You’re not hurt, are you?”

“I’m  _ not!”  _ Lailah said and her voice echoed around the corridors, louder than she expected and it tore at her throat. It'd been so long since she spoke. “I’m perfectly fine!”

“Then—”

“Vela was barely eighteen, Zaveid!” The numbness that previously froze Lailah’s body in place had melted and tears began to pour. “She was so  _ young _ ..!  _ Why  _ did it have to be her? Why is it always  _ them  _ instead of me?!”

“Lailah—”

“She’s the fifth one. How many more Shepherds are going to die before my own eyes? I’ve watched so many people die and I’ve - I’ve—”

“It’s not your fault,” Zaveid said and his hands were on Lailah’s shoulders in seconds. “Lailah, look at me. It’s not your fault. You don’t deserve to get hurt or die or whatever stupid thing you’re thinking of, alright?”

“H-How can I call myself a P-Prime Lord if I can’t protect any Shepherd under my command? I don’t deserve—”

“You think Vela would say the same thing? You think she’d have gotten this far if it weren’t for your help and guidance?”

“How can she say anything?! She’s  _ dead _ , Zaveid, and I… I—” Lailah buried herself in Zaveid’s chest, sobs wracking her body. Muffled apologies fell from her lips. Zaveid wrapped one arm around Lailah’s back, the other stroking the back of her head.

Lailah cried, for the lost Shepherds, for Vela. She  _ knew  _ it was a heavy burden to take upon herself, to train the world’s new Shepherds to keep the land Sorey was purifying free of any more malevolence. She’d wept countless times for the humans and seraphim lost and people said it got easier as time passed, but it was a lie, all a  _ lie. _

Or perhaps Lailah was too empathetic. She’d seen so many grow and fall and the world had changed, sometimes too hard for Lailah to keep up.

And through it all, Zaveid was there, a constant, steady force that kept her grounded. The world was cruel but somehow, in his arms, it felt less so.

* * *

It was another twenty years before another teenager came to Lailah, brimming with potential for a new Shepherd. He had eyes the colour of emeralds and determination that seemed to radiate from his body.

Images flashed through Lailah’s mind. Of another green-eyed boy who had saved and was saving the world. Of a charming girl with hair as fiery. as her personality and sparkles in her eyes. Of a girl who danced more than she walked, ignoring the stares she’d get from others, with a laugh like windchimes and a passion that lit alight the hearts of others when she spoke of protecting the world against malevolence.

Lailah remembered what each of their funerals were like. The tears that fell and the pain that wrapped its ugly claws around her heart, the most painful thing Lailah ever had to experience, pain she never wanted to feel again.

This boy, undoubtedly, would bring more pain to Lailah.

She squeezed Zaveid’s hand and he squeezed back. “You can say no if you want to,” he murmured into her ear, quietly, so the boy wouldn’t hear.

Lailah shook her head. “It’s alright.”

“Are you sure you can take the burden again?”

“No." Lailah said. "Not alone, at least."

She walked towards the boy and a breeze followed her, spreading kisses along her skin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ('i'll try to make things more romantic' i say and then i do this. i swear, the most romantic thing i'll ever write is a two-sentence kiss.)


	12. Day 12: Dance

Lailah swirled her wine in the glass, watching the stars above as the sounds of laughter and music floated through the air from within Ladylake’s castle. It was a celebration for the end of the war between Hyland and Roland. Alisha invited them and Sergei, though he politely declined. Rose and Sorey, on the other hand, were ecstatic.

Without a doubt, this was the happiest Lailah had seen Ladylake in ages. Not a trace of malevolence was to be found as humans danced, sang and drank their previous worries. Alisha offered fancy clothes to Rose and Sorey, while the seraphim declined her offer. Edna and Dezel were apathetic towards the celebration — though, Lailah caught sight of sparkles in Edna’s eyes and Dezel was less grouchy than usual — while Mikleo shrugged and said it didn’t matter, the humans wouldn’t be able to see them anyway.

That was the point of their dream, wasn’t it? To see the day where humans and seraphim could live side by side? Though Mikleo was invisible to humans, Sorey did try to coax him into dancing. His efforts failed, naturally, but he still clung by Mikleo’s side. Rose, on the other hand, was nowhere to be found while Alisha was being drowned in offer after offer for dances. Lailah wondered if Alisha knew how to dance in the first place. Perhaps she should have offered to teach them — Sorey, Rose and Alisha — to dance.

It was fun, but even Lailah needed a small break to appreciate the cosmos after the chaos of the fight. The stars seemed to shine brighter this night, too, as if honouring their achievements and efforts. For once, hope was more than a fanciful dream.

A wind blew past and Lailah stood up straight, senses on alert. That wind was too familiar. A chuckle came from the darkness. “You’re not joining the celebrations inside?”

A figure emerged and Lailah relaxed her body. “Zaveid,” she said. “It’s nice to see you. Why did you stop by?”

“Thought I’d see what all the ruckus was about and see if I could catch myself a drink.” Zaveid eyed the wine in Lailah’s glass. “Such a shame I won’t be able to talk with the ladies inside.”

“I’m sure they feel the same way.”

“How about you? How d’you feel?” Zaveid walked closer to Lailah, leaning against the castle walls. “You just defeated a dragon.”

“Thanks to everyone.” Lailah looked back inside the castle, whose doors were left wide open, an invitation to all. Inside, she caught a glimpse of Alisha and Sorey dancing. Oh, so Alisha did know how to dance. She seemed to be teaching Sorey and it was going as well as to be expected. “I’m delighted. I haven’t seen this much hope in years.”

“Yeah, the kids certainly are happy.” Zaveid followed Lailah’s gaze.

“They have every reason to be.”

“Why aren’t you with them?” Zaveid asked again. “Out here, there’s nobody to appreciate your beauty.”

“Inside, there wouldn’t be anybody, either. The humans can’t see me.”

“Details, details! It’d still be nice to go inside instead of staying out here all alone. What were you doing here, anyway?” Zaveid leaned in closer, lowering his voice. “Waiting for a certain someone?”

“I thought I’d take a break to catch my breath and collect my thoughts. It’s good to celebrate, but we still have a lot of work to do.”

“Hey, now’s not the time to be thinking about things like that!” Zaveid cried out. “There’s a party going on and you’re sitting out here  _ thinking!  _ You’ve gotta learn to relax every once in a while.”

“I suppose,” Lailah took a sip of her wine.

“It’s okay to have fun, y’know.” Zaveid offered his hand to Lailah, who stared at him with a questioning look. He smiled. “It’s a shame there’s no one else here to see your charm, but that means I can have to all to myself.”

“My, are you asking me out?”

“Sure, why not? This is the perfect opportunity to.” Zaveid winked. “C’mon, let’s join the dance inside.”

Lailah hesitated, then, set her glass down. “I can’t argue against that. You’re right, this is a time to enjoy the present without worrying about the future.”

“Atta girl! See, now you’re getting it.”

Lailah placed her hand into Zaveid’s and he, with a smile brighter than the stars, he took her back into the celebrations.


	13. Day 13: Thief

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> um. 
> 
> I'm not sure what AU this is. A... knight AU? ...I don't know how to explain it, I hope it's not too confusing? (I also rushed the ending a bit, so please forgive me there Q_Q)

The pounding of footsteps reverberated off the alley’s walls, accompanied by short, rushed breaths.  _ Damn,  _ the palace guards were a lot more competent than what he remembered. He was  _ so  _ close to getting away with his prize without anybody knowing. He rounded a corner, then another and another, but the footsteps behind him didn’t cease.

The wound in his side continued to bleed; there was no way he was going to outrun his foe at this point. He was never one for running, or hiding. In fact, he wanted nothing more than to beat the shit out of whoever wouldn’t get off his ass, but his injuries were a reminder that if he tried that, he’d get captured. If it were up to him, he’d ditch the pesky sword he was carrying and make a break for it, but them his “employer” would be the one hunting him down instead.

He arrived at a fork, one that had two different paths. He chose a random alleyway and ducked into it, then threw himself behind some dumpster-shaped thing. Whatever it was, it was large enough to hide his body. He covered his mouth with his hand, trying his hardest to stifle his breaths. The footsteps came soon after, stopping at the fork.

_ Go the other way, go the other way, go the other way, go the other way… _

Blood pounded in his ears and he didn’t dare breathe. Then the guard walked in his direction. He made himself smaller, trying his best to blend in with the wall and nope, that didn’t work. The world flashed red and orange as flames shot at his hiding spot, and he nearly got burned as he dove out of the way and continued running again.

“Stop!” The guard cried. A feminine voice, soft, despite its harsh order. Well, if all else failed, he could try charming his way out of this.

The alley took him just outside of the town. All that remained between him and freedom — a forest that even locals found difficult to navigate — was a giant-ass grassy field. He didn’t make it far before the flames chased him again and this time, he didn’t avoid them. They pushed him to the ground, singeing his clothes and hair.

He pulled himself up just as the guard caught up with him. They stood a couple meters back, and now that he wasn’t running, he got a good glimpse of them. They weren’t dressed in the traditional knight’s outfit, a full-body suit of armour. From the looks of it, they weren’t from the frontlines and used magic instead. Most importantly, they didn’t have a helmet covering their face.

White hair that nearly touched the ground, jade-green eyes, delicate pink lips and skin like porcelain. Aw, shit, it was that knight he was flirting with to get closer to his prize. Such a shame, she was a cute one. If he hadn’t been found out, he could have gotten a date, too.

“I should have known…” Her eyes narrowed. “You’re Zaveid the Whirlwind, that crooked, thieving outlaw.”

“Whoa, who told you that?” Zaveid carelessly shrugged. “You got my name right, but I wouldn’t call myself a thief. I just go along with whatever job pays the most money. You got me?”

“By the command of Her Majesty, I order you to return that which you have stolen.” Didn’t waste any time playing around, huh?

“If you know who I am, you should know that I don’t take orders.” Zaveid hefted the sword onto his shoulder, its weight more a liability than comfort with his injury. Whatever made him look more threatening was worth it, he supposed.

“If you do not give Asura’s sword back, I will have to take it by force.”

_ Uh, yeah, no thank you.  _ “How’s about you turn around and pretend you never saw anything? That way, nobody’ll get hurt.”

“This is your second warning.” She fell into a battle stance.

“Believe me, I’d  _ love  _ to give back ol’ Asura’s sword,” he said. He wasn’t lying. This was a powerful sword, and he was delivering it into the hands of the enemy. There was little doubt that his employer would use this blade for evil and chaos.  “But I’m kinda in a pickle here and can’t do that.” Without putting Eizen and Edna in danger. Piece of shit just  _ had  _ to use blackmail, didn’t she?

“Then I’m afraid I’m going to have to take it back from you by force.”

Time to take a different approach. “Darling, are you sure this is what you want to do? I’d hate to damage your beauty.” Zaveid’s voice went low, sultry. “I could give you something else instead, you know. All that I was saying before weren’t lies.” He took a step towards her, praying with every step that she  _ wouldn’t  _ burn him to ashes.

She raised an eyebrow. “You’ve given me no reason to trust you.”

Zaveid set the sword down on the ground. “Back in the castle, we were alone for a long time. I could have attacked you at any time and taken the sword.”

“A ruse to gain my trust.”

“Did it work?” Zaveid was gradually closing the distance between themselves and she didn’t budge, keeping her eyes trained on Zaveid, papers in hand. He was close enough to see the scratches in her armour, shining in the setting sun.

“Why have you taken Asura’s sword? It’s unlike you to do something so dastardly.”

“Oho, so you  _ do  _ know a little bit about me. What else do you know?” Another step closer.

“You’re a wandering vagabond who travels with the wind and heeds to no laws.”

Another. “Is that it?”

“Your crimes lie in petty acts. You don’t do things ‘for the money’. From the criminals we’ve captured, they’ve said that you don’t associate yourself with them.”

Any closer and they’d be chest-to-chest. “Yeah, that’s right.”

“You’re often seen loitering around bars and you’re confident about your strength. I hardly believe that you’d go after Asura’s sword for its power.”

“Bingo.”

“And you’re—” She swallowed, holding Zaveid’s gaze. “—you’re a notorious flirt.”

“Right on. Seems like you know a lot about me, but I don’t know a lot about you. I don’t even know your name. Your  _real_ name."

“Lailah." She answered. "My name is Lailah."

“Lailah,” Zaveid said, relishing in the way her name rolled off his tongue. A pretty name to match a pretty face. “You don’t seem so hell-bent on arresting me than you were before.”

“I’ve had time to think it over and you said that you weren’t acting alone.”

“Yes, and no.” For some reason, the truth felt easier to speak than a lie. “I’m alone right now, but I’m acting under orders.”

 

“Oh? I thought you said you didn’t take orders.”

A clever one, too. “I don’t, but she didn’t give me much of a choice. I may be a hooligan, but I’ve got my own people to take care of.” 

Slowly, Lailah was piecing the story together, realization lighting up her eyes. “If you don’t deliver that sword, somebody is going to get hurt.”

“And if I do, somebody else is going to get hurt. Shitty dilemma, isn’t it? I guess you have a choice now. You can arrest me and take back the sword, or let me go with the sword.” Zaveid pointed to his wound, its pain still stinging his side. He needed medical care  _soon._ “I’m in no position to fight back.”

“...Who is it that gave you those orders?”

“...Her name’s Maltran.” Ah, hell. If Zaveid was fucked either way, the least he could do was make the bitch who blackmailed him known to the knights. Maybe they’d succeed in stopping her and whatever her plan was. 

“Maltran…  _ that  _ Maltran?!”

“That’s the one.”

Lailah went quiet. Neither moved from their spot. Lailah’s eyes were trained on the ground, and Zaveid practically saw the gears moving in her head. At long last, she spoke and when she did, it was full of more authority.

“Go.”

“Go?”

“Go.” Lailah repeated. “There’s nobody that recognized you. If you leave now, before anybody comes, you’ll be able to keep your reputation intact… and your friends safe.”

Zaveid searched for any sign of deceit. There were none. “Guess it really  _ is  _ my lucky day." All he needed was a date from Lailah and things would be  _perfect_. Or he could go for the second-best thing. Zaveid closed any remaining space between them, leaned in and pressed a kiss to Lailah's lips. After a moment, she returned the kiss, eyes sliding shut as heat blossomed between them. Zaveid smiled and said, when they finally broke apart, "There's my thanks to you for letting me go. I won't forget it. I'll pay you back some day."

He left without looking back.

* * *

 

Lailah was left with the ghostly sensation of Zaveid’s kiss still on her lips as she returned to the castle— without Asura's sword—, her cheeks still painted a bright pink (if she had to guess). Their conversation kept replaying in her head, everything from when Zaveid first appeared to her in the guise of a knight, flirting to gain her affections to when he spilled the truth.

_ What have I done? _

“Lailah!” A knight came running towards her. Alisha. “Did you get any information on the thief? What exactly happened?”

“I was guarding Asura’s sword,” Lailah started. “When a thief… a thief broke in and attacked me with an arte I’d never seen before. It caught me off-guard and they used that opportunity to grab Asura’s sword. I didn’t manage to catch them, but I saw their identity.”

_ Did I make the right choice? _

“Who was it?”

“Maltran. Her name is Maltran.”

_ Can I trust Zaveid? _

"She was the one who stole Asura's blade?"

_'I'll pay you back someday," he said._

"Yes."

_I'm looking forward to that day._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> afgfgafga I didn't edit it, so excuse any mistakes I've made. I've realized now that I struggle with writing Lailah's more whimsical side and I'm only comfortable with portraying her serious side Q_Q 
> 
> it's k. i still have 17(?) days to make up for the lack of pun-lailah.


	14. Day 14: Nightmare

Lailah woke to thrashing on the other side of the bed and she was already out of bed, standing, papers in hand and incantation at the ready before she realized she wasn’t being attacked. Left behind on the bed, still tangled in the sheets, was Zaveid. He’d been tossing and turning, beads of sweat trickling down his face to the pillows below.

His face wasn’t the calm, vulnerable expression one would expect a sleeping man to have. His eyebrows were scrunched together and he was scowling, as unintelligible mumbles escaped his parted lips.

Lailah recognized these signs; they were far too common for her liking. She rushed to Zaveid’s side and gently shook him awake, taking care to avoid his flailing limbs. “Zaveid?” she whispered.

Zaveid’s eyes shot open and he was up in an instant, gasping for air. His eyes, wild and brimming with fear, locked onto Lailah’s own and he studied her face closely. “Lailah, you’re… you’re here,” he rasped and Lailah wrapped her hands around Zaveid’s torso. “ _ Shit…” _ Zaveid raised shaking hands to rest on Lailah’s shoulders.

“It’s alright. I’m here. I’m okay. It was only a nightmare.” Lailah murmured into Zaveid’s neck.

“It felt so  _ real. _ ” Zaveid gripped Lailah more tightly, as if afraid this one wasn’t real, too. His breathing was sporadic and heavy. Lailah didn’t let go until she heard his breaths turn back to normal. Even when they finally did, she didn’t let go.

They didn’t go back to sleep that night.


	15. Day 15: Dragon

_ “Promise me, Lailah. Promise me that you’ll do it.” _

_ “...I promise. I’ll do it. I won’t let you suffer. _

* * *

 

Black scales covered his —  _ its  _ entire body, with wings that casted shadows where it stood. Claws as tall as Lailah, sharpened to a point, accompanied by fangs that were stained red with blood. Spikes travelled along its spine to the end of its tail, lashing in anger and it roared, deafening, horrifying.

Lailah stared into orange eyes — the only remaining similarity between  _ him  _ and  _ it  _ — that were filled with hatred, so different from the warmth and love she once saw. They were the same eyes, but they were oh,  _ so  _ different.

It roared again and the winds around them swirled dangerously, cold and cutting. Lailah’s Shepherd looked to her. “Are you sure about this?” they asked. That’s what they asked her, back at the inn, too.  _ If it’s too taxing, we can get somebody else to do it.  _ Her answer hadn’t changed.

“I am.” Lailah replied, her voice unwavering. “I promised.”

Even so, she couldn’t help but apologize every time the Shepherd’s sword struck  _ it, _ every time her flames would burn away its scales. It would cry out in pain and Lailah would apologize over and over again, for letting it come to this, for having to do this, but her apologies were captured and carried away by the wind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this isn't even zavelai content lmao it's just ficlets that happen to star zaveid and lailah ╥﹏╥


	16. Day 16: What?!

“Zaveid and I are dating.” Lailah stood up from her chair at the dining table in one of the Sparrowfeathers’ hideouts, Zaveid’s hand in her own. They shared a warm look and happiness swelled in Lailah’s chest. They looked to the others, searching for any sign of a reaction. Everybody was silent for a moment or so, processing the news. It was Mikleo who spoke first.

“You’re…  _ dating?!”  _ he gasped.

“Indeed we are.”

“For… for how long have you guys been together?” Rose spoke up, cheeks bulging from her dinner, which now lay forgotten in front of her. “How come I didn’t notice anything?”

Edna answered for them. “Three weeks.” she said, lacking in any emotion, as always. She was more interested in poking her Normin doll.

Rose swallowed. “Edna, you  _ knew?!” _

“Wasn’t it obvious?” she muttered. “Even a bat would’ve been able to see the way they looked at each other with those lovey-dovey eyes. It’s so cute I could almost barf.” 

“Aw, don’t try to hide it Edna. I know you’re happy for us.” Zaveid winked and he was spared from being speared with Edna’s parasol thanks to Lailah, who stepped in between the two.

“As if.”

“Well, I know  _ I’m  _ happy for the both of you.” Sorey, bless his pure soul, had eyes wide with childlike wonder. “It’s amazing! I’ve noticed that you were a lot more cheerful lately, Lailah. You were making more puns than usual.”

“See? At least  _ someone  _ can appreciate my puns.” Lailah prodded Zaveid’s side. He shrugged with a chuckle.

“It’s amazing indeed.” Mikleo said. “I’m still trying to comprehend how somebody like Lailah could date somebody like Zaveid. They’re complete opposites.”

“You know what they say: opposites always attract.” Zaveid pulled Lailah in close and she giggled, hiding her mouth behind her hand. Zaveid, being Zaveid, made obnoxious smooching sounds and Edna and Mikleo both gagged, while Sorey only blushed and looked away.

“See what I mean?” Edna opened her parasol with a flourish, hiding the two lovebirds from view. “It’s barf-worthy.”

“Lailah,  _ please  _ tell me why you’re dating that idiot.” Mikleo begged, like he was hoping it was another one of Lailah’s jokes.

“I’ll tell you why. How can anybody resist a man like  _ me?”  _ Zaveid proudly puffed his chest out. “I’m handsome, sexy and—”

“An idiot?” Edna offered. Zaveid opened his mouth to retort, but Lailah was quick to silence him. She whispered something into his ear with a knowing smile and they both laughed, their joy lighting up the entire room. “Or maybe not. The bigger idiot might be the one choosing to date the idiot. That’s probably why they’re together; they’re both airheads.”

Zaveid pecked Lailah on the lips, not paying attention to anything around them, like they were in their own little world, ignoring the growing despair of the others (minus Sorey) around the dinner table.

“Please don’t tell me they’re going to be like this from now on.” Mikleo groaned, face hidden in his palms. “It’s been one minute and I can’t take it. They’re acting like teenagers in love.”

Either Zaveid and Lailah chose not to respond to his words, or they didn’t hear him over their cuddling that was dangerously traversing to “get a room” territory— at least, by Edna’s standards.

“Sorey, is it too late to find another wind and fire seraph?” Rose asked.

“Trying to replace us, eh?” Zaveid’s grin was his typical perverted, mischiveious grin, the one that didn’t mean anything good. “It’s okay, we won’t mind. It’s the perfect excuse to have a romantic getaway.”

Rose, Edna and Mikleo all collectively groaned. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quantity > quality boiis
> 
> We're little over halfway there. Hooooo boy, that's still a lot of prompts to do...


	17. Day 17: Date (Part 1)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> er
> 
> This seems very familiar to a previous prompt and it's kinda incomplete, but I need to write it here to set the stage for Part 2. Stay tuned! I'll try my best to give you guys Part 2 tomorrow~ Oh, and regarding my "laziness" in updating- it's IRL stuff that's stopping me from doing so. I think I've said this before, but I'll say it again: Don't fear! I'll be sure to finish this challenge and I'll try my hardest to keep up with it.

“That’s nonsense. There’s no way that statue is 100 years old. I’d wager it at 50 years max.” Mikleo crossed his arms and there was that familiar huff on his face. Aside him, Sorey resumed flipping through the latest book he found.

“No way. See this picture here? Look at the way the statue is carved.” Sorey argued, thrusting the book in Mikleo’s face. Mikleo continued walking. “Hey!”

“I’ve looked at the way that the statue was carved, which is exactly why I believe it was made 100 years ago.”

Their squabble continued through the streets, Sorey surely looking mad with the way he was (apparently) talking to thin air. He didn’t seem to care— there was  _ no  _ way the statue was that old and he was determined to pencil in another win over Mikleo. They tossed playful barbs at each other as they headed back to the inn, having spent most of their day at a library.

Mikleo entered the inn first.“ _ Yes _ , but if we consider the influence of seraphim, then wouldn’t— ah?” He stopped suddenly, Sorey bumping into his back.

“Hey, what gives?”

“Look over there.” Mikleo pointed to the corner of the inn, where Zaveid and Edna sat with a couple of bottles more than Sorey was comfortable with sitting on the table. Some were empty, and Zaveid was chugging another. “Zaveid? Is everything alright?”

“Oh, look, our two hopeless romantics.” Edna said, pointing to Sorey and Mikleo. “Why don’t you ask them for advice?”

Sorey slid into a chair opposite Zaveid, while Mikleo remained standing. “Advice? I’m not sure if I’ll be any good, but I’ll try my best.”

Zaveid covered his face with his palms and mumbled something.

“Sorry, I didn’t catch that.”

“I’m thinking of asking Lailah out and I need some help.”

“We —  _ I  _ was saying he should just give her some flowers.” Edna said. “It’s so simple even Zaveid couldn’t mess it up.”

“That sounds fine.” Mikleo said. “It is indeed simple, gentlemanly, cheap and Lailah does love flowers, no? I’m sure she’d appreciate them greatly.”

“Flowers? But they’re so, I dunno,  _ old-fashioned. _ ” Zaveid took another swig from the bottle and Sorey wondered where he got that from. Or how he paid for them. Or if he bothered to pay.

“Do you have any better ideas?” Edna said with a look that made Zaveid go silent. “See? Exactly. If you do exactly as I say, nothing will go wrong.”

_ (“Last time she said that…” Mikleo whispered to Sorey. “Do you remember what happened?” _

_ “Let’s hope things will be different this time.” Sorey gulped.) _

“Fine, I surrender. I’ll go and grab some flowers and ask her out. Happy?”

“Very.”

“It’s okay, Zaveid. I’m sure everything will turn out fine. We’ll support you all the way!” Sorey cheered.

* * *

 

_ Meanwhile… _

“What’s the big deal? He likes you, you like him, so why don’t you just date already?”

“It’s not that easy Rose.” Lailah sighed. “How do I put this..? It’s like trying to force a flower to grow. You can’t do that, it needs time.”

“I’m not sure if that’s completely accurate,” Rose questioned. “But alright, you do you. Will you still say yes when he finally gets the balls to ask you out?”

“I…” Lailah thought for a moment. “I think I will.”

“That’s my girl! I  _ know  _ everything will turn out fine and if Zaveid acts like a mega perv or something, I’ve got your back.” Rose said with that familiar twinkle in her eyes as her fingers traced her daggers’ sheath.

“I hope it won’t come to that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> eheheh........... i got the idea for this chapter from an abandoned(?) WIP I have for another fanfic, a Berseria one. I mean, technically it's alright, isn't it? I'm no longer writing the WIP so I'm not exactly copying. Then again, writing this chapter has made me feel inspired to finish that WIP....


	18. Day 18: Meeting

Lailah rarely travelled alone. Or rather, she rarely travelled in general, but Edna hadn’t responded to any of her letters lately and, well, Lailah was growing worried, especially with the…  _ company  _ she was keeping on Rayfalke.

The mountain towered over her, its tip appearing to touch the skies. Lailah saw no sign of a dragon but she knew, somewhere hidden in those rocks, Edna’s brother was lurking. Oh, Edna. She had so much faith in Eizen, that he would be able to turn back.

Memories bubbled up from within Lailah’s heart, of the numerous people she and her previous Shepherds hoped they could save, only to have to kill— save? —them later. She forced those thoughts back down. No, now was not the time to get emotional over this. She had to stay strong for Edna and search for her.

Rayfalke was eerily quiet, save for the lonely howl of the wind rushing through Lailah’s hair. High heels were not suited for hiking, but she was making do, finding her way up the mountain bit by bit until one of the winds that blew by her felt different from the rest and she stopped.

It wasn’t a natural wind, it was one borne of a seraph. Only a wind-seraph could control the wind this well. Lailah didn’t pull her papers out, but her senses were on high alert as she looked for the source. “Is anybody there?” she called out.

“It’s not very often Rayfalke gets any visitors.” A voice answered her. From above, a figure came leaping down in front of Lailah. His hair was long, white, wild and he was without a shirt, exposing toned muscles and tattoos that ran along his chest. Orange eyes seemed to pierce right through Lailah and she had to work to resist the urge to pull out her weapons.

There was something off about this seraph.

“May I ask who you are?”

“Name’s Zaveid the Whirlwind,” he answered carelessly. “And what’s your name, beautiful?”

_ Zaveid.  _ That name rang a bell. “Hello, Zaveid. I am Lailah. Have you seen Edna?”

“Oh, you’re looking for her, too?”

“She’s missing?!”

“More like she’s hiding. She hates me that much, huh?” Zaveid said more to himself than to Lailah.

Hates… hates…  _ hates…  _ that was it! Lailah summoned her papers, three in each hand as she stared down Zaveid. Edna told her about a wind seraph in a letter, once. Something about an annoyance she had to chase off the mountain every so often. No, Zaveid was no mere annoyance. Edna said he came to the mountain with malicious intent.

“Whoa, what’s the big deal?” Zaveid took a step back. “Was it something I said?”

“Where is Edna?” Lailah asked.

“I didn’t do anything to her! Honest.”

“Forgive me for having a hard time believing you.” Lailah said, the fires in her eyes doing little to warm her icy-cold tone. Zaveid flinched, like he’d been struck by an arte.

“Man, today just  _ isn’t  _ my lucky day, is it?” he mumbled. “You’re awfully protective of Edna, aren’t you, Lailah?”

“As a friend should be.”

“I’m glad Edna’s made some friends. I’ll leave, if you want. I’ll finish my business here another day.” Zaveid walked towards Lailah and she defensively raised her hands in front of herself, but Zaveid only raised his eyebrows as he walked right past her, giving her a salute over his shoulder.

Lailah didn’t bother going after him. She ran up the mountain, stumbling over pebbles and stones, looking for a glimpse of yellow amongst the brown, brown, brown ground of Rayfalke. “Edna!” Lailah called out. “Edna, are you here? Can you hear me?”

“No need to yell. I can hear you just fine. What’s got you so riled up?”

“Edna!” Lailah spun around and Edna was standing there, under her parasol with the same monotonous expression and voice and her face belied no emotion as Lailah ran up to her, enveloping her in a hug. “I thought something happened to you! Why didn’t you respond to any of my letters?”

“What’s there to say?” Edna pushed Lailah away. “It’s always the same old thing here on Rayfalke.”

“Still!” Lailah protested. “I enjoy hearing from you Edna. When you didn’t respond, I thought you were hurt by somebody, like that wind seraph you were telling me about.”

“Zaveid?  _ Please.  _ He’d never be able to get a scratch on me.”

“Yes, Zaveid! I met him while coming to find you.”

“Oh, did you?” Edna sounded completely uninterested. “That must have sucked.”

“He said he had some business here.”

Edna’s face grew dark. “Yeah. He comes here every so often so he can try and kill Eizen.” Lailah gasped. “I don’t know why he’s so determined to do it, when he was friends with Eizen before, but I’ve stopped him from doing it each time and I’ll keep stopping him until he gives up.”

“Edna, I… I had no idea. I’m sorry about that. I’m sure Zaveid has his reasons.”

“Stupid ones. I guess I should apologize for making you have to meet him. He’s an annoying person to be around.”

“Actually…” Lailah began. “I wouldn’t mind meeting him again. He sounds like a very interesting person. I’d like to know more about this… Zaveid.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lmao what's a romance


	19. Day 19: Date (Part 2)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The sequel to day 17! You don't need to read that one to understand the gist of this one, but then again, if you're this far, I'll assume you've already read it. Enjoy~

The next day, the group planned to stay behind in Ladylake. They could afford to spare a single day to help Zaveid ask Lailah out. He was doing it in the morning, while he thought that everybody but Lailah (a notorious early riser) was asleep.

“Move! I can’t see!”

“Rose, stop pushing! You’re stepping on my cape.”

“ _ Ouch!  _ Edna, I  _ know  _ you stepped on my foot on purpose.”

“Get outta the way, get outta the way, he’s walking up to her. I wanna see!”

They weren’t.

They were crouched behind a bench that was some ways away from a little plaza-like place with a fountain in the center, where Lailah was sitting down, surrounded by birds that showed no fear to her whatsoever. Two humans and two seraphim, however, was too big a number to squeeze behind a bench, watch, eavesdrop, and remain hidden all at the same time.

“Mikleo, Edna, can’t you guys just go inside Sorey and watch from there?” Rose moaned.

“I want to see it in person.” Mikleo replied. Rose huffed and turned her gaze back to Zaveid, who was approaching her with flowers in hand. 

“Mikleo, move over just a tiny bit.” Sorey was practically on top of Mikleo as he struggled to catch a glimpse of the action. As Zaveid drew near, the birds flew away, Lailah looking up to catch the culprit. She smiled and stood up, brushing dirt off her dress.

“What are they saying? I can’t hear.” Rose said.

“Maybe if you shut up, you could.” Edna retorted. “Or you could give them some privacy.”

“Says you! You’re here eavesdropping with us.”

“Me? I just want to watch Zaveid fail.”

“Same thing!”

“Rose,” Mikleo said. “Be quiet! I think he’s going to give her the flowers.”

“Edna’s talking, too.” Rose complained, but she went quiet nonetheless, leaning closer, face nearly pressed up against the metal. With a tiny bow, Zaveid offered the flowers to Lailah, who looked shocked at first, then took them with a blush that was visible from afar.

“She likes them! Great idea, Edna.” Sorey said.

“Sorey, shh!” Rose hissed.

He silenced himself and they continued to try and listen, only succeeding to catch bits and pieces of their conversation (and strange looks from passersby).

“...that so? I thought…”

“It’s different… 1000 years since…”

“...expected… you….”

Just as Sorey was about to mention they should give the two some privacy, Lailah laughed. His head shot up to see Zaveid extending his hand to Lailah, and she placed hers in his. They began to walk away, in the direction of the lake. It was working, it was working!

“Quick, follow them!” Rose was up in an instant, leaving behind a footprint on Sorey’s cape. Sorey was up soon after, Mikleo on his tail, while Edna only sighed and walked. 

“Rose, what if we’re caught?” Sorey said. They ran across a bridge and stopped in the middle, Rose waving her head around wildly. “Zaveid can read the wind!”

“We’ll just have to be extra sneaky. Which way did they go?!”

“Right, I think.” Mikleo came up from behind. “Though, I have to agree with Sorey on this one. Perhaps we should leave them to their own devices.”

Rose scoffed. “Puh- _ lease. _ You want to watch them as much as I do. You said they went right?”

“Look down.” Edna hopped onto the bridge’s ledge, kicking her feet. “They’re watching the lake.”

Rose was at the ledge in an instant. Sure enough, Zaveid and Lailah were sitting together, holding hands, watching the water sparkle in the morning sun. Rose cheered and ducked down, only the top of her head visible, watching them. Sorey followed suit and Mikleo, after giving a half-hearted protest, joined them.

“You look like idiots.” Edna said.

“It’s worth it!” Rose waved her off, then gave her a once-over. “Edna, get  _ down _ from there! They’ll see you!”

“They won’t.” Edna twirled her parasol. “They’re too busy looking at each other.”

Edna, naturally, was right. It was back to watching without hearing. Judging from Lailah’s laughter, she was enjoying Zaveid’s company, and Zaveid lost any nervousness he had the previous night. All in all, the date was going perfectly. Edna’s plans really  _ were  _ unstoppable. Sorey’s heart beat with excitement as he watched them inch closer and closer to each other, their legs practically touching…

“They’re going to kiss! You think they’re going to kiss? Who wants to bet with me?” Rose stopped ducking down, fully standing, hands on the ledge, all sneakiness thrown aside. “Twenty gald says they’ll kiss.”

“Fifty gald says they won’t.” Edna said. Rose grinned.

“You’re on. You’re  _ so  _ gonna lose. I can feel the money in my pockets already.”

Mikleo, too, was standing. “It does seem likely that they’re about to kiss. Are you sure we should be watching this? Is it okay?”

“I mean, it’s only a kiss, right?” Sorey nervously laughed and soon enough, he, too, was standing and leaning on the ledge. The water, calm, trickled below, its harmony a duet with the bird’s songs.

“Rose, I don’t think we should be watching.” Mikleo placed his hand on Rose’s, but she pushed him off.

“No, not right now! Give me a second, I  _ know  _ they’re about to do it!”

“Rose—”

“I have fifty gald on the line!”

Zaveid whispered something into Lailah’s ear and she looked at him, though her expression was hard to discern from their location. Though, they could see they were staring deeply into each other’s eyes and Rose was half-on the ledge, half-off as she whispered words of excitement.

“Rose, c’mon, we should give them some privacy.” Mikleo, once again, tried to grab Rose’s arm and she shook him off.

“They’re gonna do it! Edna, get the money ready.”

They stopped talking, their silence speaking for them.

“Mikleo, let go of my arm.”

“Not until you stop being creepy!”

Their hands entwined.

“Ouch! Rose, stop!”

“I’ll stop if you stop!”

“Zaveid and Lailah leaned closer to each other, eyes slowly closing…

Rose had pulled her arm out of Mikleo’s with so much force, she fell backwards, teetering over the edge of the ledge and then—

“ _ Hiaaaah!” _

“Rose!” Mikleo gasped. He reached out to grab her hand as she fell over the ledge, and only succeeded in joining her as the two tumbled down into the water with a large  _ splash  _ that left Sorey cringing. He looked over the ledge in panic, then ran off the bridge to get closer to the water, bubbles popping up from the surface where they fell.

“Mikleo, Rose! Where are you two?! Are you alright?” Sorey threw off his cape and had one foot in the water when Rose surfaced, gasping for air, red hair plastered to her face. Mikleo was holding onto her, piggy-back style, spluttering.

“I’m—” Rose took a breath. “—alright! We’re alive!”

Mikleo coughed and Rose began to swim back to shore, to Sorey. He could hear them bickering while doing so, their cool bath doing little to chill their heated argument. 

“I didn’t do anything!

“If you’d kept your hands to yourself—”

“If you’d given them their privacy—”

“What’s going on?”

Sorey turned around. Zaveid and Lailah were standing there (not holding hands, he noticed), and both wore identical, shocked expressions. Sorey tried to smile, but it came out looking more like a grimace.

From the water, Mikleo pulled himself up first, then Rose. She was in the middle of wringing her hair out when she noticed Zaveid and Lailah.

“O-Oh, hey guys… it’s a nice morning to go for a swim, isn’t it?”

Mikleo groaned and hid his face in his palms, looking as though he’d love nothing more than to melt back into the water and stay there. 

“What happened?” Lailah was at Rose’s side, helping her up and drying her off with one of her flames, while Mikleo drew the water away from his own clothes.

“W-Well, y’see…” Sorey started…

“We were kinda…”

“It was an accident…”

“...curious…”

“...tried to tell her not to…”

“We promise we weren’t…”

Laliah and Zaveid looked to each other, then to Sorey, Rose and Mikleo in turn. “You were,” Zaveid began slowly. “Stalking us?”

“To make sure everything went well. I even made a bet.” Rose said gloomily, sinking back to sit on the ground.

“Indeed you did.” Edna’s voice called from the bridge, where she was still sitting down, albeit with a shit-eating grin this time. “Fifty gald, Rose.”


	20. Day 20: Burden

The day started off normally. Walk a whole lot, talk a whole lot, fight a whole lot of hellions… A  _ whole  _ lot. More than they were used to. The one outlier in an otherwise predictable day. Fatigue was beginning to wash over the team, though, and gradually, their conversations dwindled away to nothing. Lailah ran out of puns, Zaveid grew bored of flirting, even Edna stopped her snark in exchange for peacefully residing inside Sorey.

A growl from the side alerted the group that they weren’t in safety yet— Lastonbell was still some distance away. With a groan, Rose pulled out her daggers as Lailah and Mikleo prepared themselves for battle. 

“Another one? That’s gotta be the twentieth one today.” Rose muttered, and she sped forward, blades flashing as she made quick work of the hellions, with support from Lailah and Mikleo’s artes. Sorey was up next, and together with Lailah, they purified the hellions, cleansing the malevolence from the air.

Another simple job, but even simple jobs grew tiring if done long enough. They shared a collective sigh as weapons were sheathed. “Don’t worry, we’re close to Lastonbell. We’ll be able to get some rest soon.” Sorey’s optimism, ever strong, did little to comfort the others.

“Let’s hurry. We can make it there before dark.” Mikleo vanished into a sphere of light and went back inside Sorey, leaving the two humans and Lailah alone.

“Lailah? You coming?” Rose asked. Lailah’s eyes focused on her and she shook her head, fixing a smile to her lips.

“O-Oh, yes, of course. Sorry, I was just thinking.” And then she was back inside Sorey, too.

Their journey continued without much talk, Sorey and Rose’s breaths gradually growing louder as they traversed towards Lastonbell. The sun sunk lower in the sky, casting shadows that followed them and eventually, Lastonbell’s silhouette was on the horizon. Rose let out a tired cheer.

With more effort than they used in a while, the two humans dashed towards Lastonbell, all too eager to get an inn, some food and a comfortable, soft bed. A hellion had other ideas, though. It took the form of a wolf and it was the only thing blocking them from Lastonbell.

“Just one more for the day.” Sorey said to Lailah, who materialized beside Sorey, already in her battle stance. She nodded and they were off, focusing on one while Rose and Edna tackled the other.

It should have been an easy fight, but Sorey caught sight of Lailah stumbling, barely missing the wolf’s claws as it raked through the air she’d just been in. “Lailah!” Sorey was quick to plant himself between the hellion and Lailah.

“I missed my footing.” Lailah sluggishly stood on her feet. “Apologies. Sorey, shall we?”

“If you’re up to it.” Sorey said, and his blade was shrouded in a blue flame. One swift swing to each of the two hellions and they were purified, an easy enough task for him. Lailah, on the other hand, was swaying in spot.

Once Rose and Sorey determined that the hellions were of no threat, he ran to Lailah’s side. “Lailah!” Sorey cried. “Are you alright?”

“I’m… fine…” Lailah said, the sheen on her skin saying otherwise. “There’s no need… too…”

Lailah swooned and she hit the ground before finishing. Sorey and Rose called out her name, crouching down and shaking her, joined soon after by the three seraphim.

“Lailah. Lailah. Wake up! What’s wrong with her?” Rose said to no one in particular.

“We’ve been purifying hellions all day. She’s exhausted herself.” Edna remarked. Even she couldn’t hide her worry under a layer of apathy. “She’s going to be alright, she just needs some rest.”

“We can’t do that out here. Let’s hurry to Lastonbell.” Sorey said. “Who’s going to—”

“I’ll do it.” Zaveid said. He brushed Lailah’s hair from her face and hefted her up with ease, bridal-style. Her long hair was dangerously close to touching the ground and her head lolled to the side as sweat formed on her forehead.

“I didn’t realize a seraphim could get this sick.” Rose said.

“It happens rarely.” Zaveid said. “She must have really outdone herself. C’mon, lets get going.”

* * *

 

Lailah opened her eyes to a blurs of black, orange and silver. Her throat was scratchy and she felt  _ hot.  _ For a fire seraph to be burning up, she must have been in a really bad position. Lailah struggled to piece together the events that occured before she blacked out. Walking, saw Lastonbell in the distance and…

“The hellions!” Lailah jumped up, blankts falling off her as she looked around in a panic. She regretted her actions almost immediately, bending over in pain. 

There was a hand on her side and when she looked up, she saw Zaveid. Her eyes focused on the area around her. She was in a bed, in a room inside an inn. It was dark, the room lit only by a few scant candles scattered about and the moonlight filtering through the window. Aside from her, Sorey and Rose were dozing in nearby beds.

“Hey, calm down.” Zaveid whispered. “We purified the hellions just fine. You’re inside an inn in Lastonbell.”

“What—” Lailah cleared her throat. “What happened?”

“You blacked out.” Zaveid produced a glass of water which Lailah gratefully took, relishing the way the cool liquid calmed the fire in her body. “We carried you to Lastonbell. You overdid yourself, huh?”

“I didn’t realize how bad it was.” Lailah clutched the empty glass in her hands, staring at it. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare anybody.”

“You’ve gotta tell us about these things next time. For all that you tell Sheps over here not to burden himself, you like to take a lot of it on your own.”

Lailah shook her head. “I should be used to it. I’ve been doing this for hundreds of years.”

“You’re used to it, but that doesn’t mean it’s okay. We’re strong, we can take a little weight.”

“I know, but…”

“It’s in your nature to worry, huh?”

“I suppose.”

Zaveid took the glass from Lailah, setting it aside. “I mean it. You should tell us when you’re not feeling well. Your health is important to us, too.”

“I know, I know.”

“Then start acting like it.” Zaveid playfully nudged Lailah, noting how her skin was beginning to cool. “You can start by getting some rest.”

“I think I’ll do that,” Lailah yawned. “What about you? Will you not sleep, too?”

“Me? Nah, I’m good. I’ll watch over you.”

“There’s no need for that.” Lailah said and yes, her cheeks were red because of her apparent fever,  _ not  _ because of something else. “I’ll be fine.”

“I’m good. I’ve been relaxing all day, since you’ve been getting into all the fights. Tomorrow—” Zaveid glanced outside. “—or today, I guess, I’ll take your place in battle, yeah?”

Normally, Lailah would have insisted, saying she was alright, she could take a few more battles. But, after all, today wasn’t exactly the most normal day. Perhaps it was better that way. She snuggled under the blankets, falling asleep to the sound of Zaveid's steady breaths.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can seraphim get sick? I can't remember.


	21. Day 21: Family

“Rose, Edna!” Lailah chided. “Stop playing with your food. Sorey, do try to leave some prickleboar meat for the rest of us. Alisha hasn’t even gotten a bite yet.”

“No, it’s alright, Lady Lailah. I-I’m not interested in—”

“Whoops, sorry ‘lisha.” Sorey said, mouth full. He gulped, then offered a plate to Alisha, who accepted it only to Sorey’s insistance. A bit of broccoli flew through the air, aimed at, if Lailah had to guess, Edna’s face. It missed terribly, and the culprit was none other than Rose.

“It’s not my fault!” Rose said, upon looking at Lailah’s glare. “She’s poking me with her umbrella under the tabl- _ yeowch!  _ See what I mean?”

Lailah shot Zaveid a pleading look. He shrugged in his seat, directly opposite of Lailah’s. “I’m just glad it’s not me for once. Pass some of the prickleboar meat over here?”

“We’re out.” Sorey said. “Sorry.”

“Shall I grab some more?” Lailah offered.

“Nah, I’m full. Besides, the humans should get priority. They’re the ones who need the food. Mikkey-boy and Edna could use a little bit, though.”

“I heard that!” Mikleo said indignantly. In the time it took him to say that, staring Zaveid down, Sorey had snatched something off its plate. When Mikleo noticed, it was already in Sorey’s mouth. “Wh— Sorey!”

“You heard them. Humans take priority.” Sorey cheekily grinned.

“You haven’t even finished your own plate yet!”

“They’re lucky this inn is empty.” Zaveid said. “Otherwise, they’d be getting a lot of weird stares.” He pointed to the way Sorey and Mikleo were grappling with a fork.

“Honestly, sometimes I feel like I’m taking care of a group of children.” Lailah rested her cheeks in her palms, elbows on the table.

“Compared to us, they basically are. You’re not complaining, are you?”

Edna had taken to poking Mikleo with her umbrella instead, leaving Sorey and Rose discussing something together. Rose laughed, slamming her hand down on the table, not caring about the noise that rang out. “No, not at all. They should enjoy every bit of their youth.”

Lailah didn’t miss how Zaveid’s eyes flitted to Mikleo. She clapped her hands together, gathering the attention of all at the table. “Alright, everybody! We have a long journey to make to Lastonbell tomorrow. We should get some sleep.”

“Lailah has a point.” Mikleo said. “Go on, Sorey.”

“Huh? Why me?”

“Humans need sleep, don’t they? I think we seraphim can stay up a little late.”

“You should go too, Mikkey-boy. Recharge your energy.” Zaveid stood up. “I’m sure there’s gonna be a lotta hellions out there tomorrow.”

“And  _ you  _ don’t need to?”

“Gotta make sure all you kids get your sleep first.”

“Who’re you calling a kid?!” Mikleo and Rose said in unison. Rose was pointing a butter knife at Zaveid, and if it were anybody but Rose, the sight might’ve looked funny. 

“Settle down, you know Zaveid’s only teasing.” Lailah stepped in between them. “I’ll take care of the table. Wash up and head to bed!”

They grumbled in response, but heeded Lailah’s orders. Chairs were pushed in and goodnights were said as everybody left to their respective rooms. Everybody but Lailah, who was left at the table, and Zaveid, who’d joined her shortly after.

“They’re all going to sleep,” he said to her inquiring gaze. “Need some help?”

Lailah pointed to a stack of plates. “Care to carry those dishes for me? I believe the innkeepers and cooks are asleep. The kitchen should be empty by now.”

“It’s that late, huh? You should try getting some rest too.”

“After I clean everything up. I’ll check on the boys first, too, and see if they’re actually sleeping before I go to bed myself.”

“You’re such a mom.” Zaveid remarked. Lailah mock-gasped, only pretending to be offended. “Whaat? It’s true! Haven’t you ever wanted kids before? And I’m not asking that in a pervy way.”

“I didn’t take it as so.” Lailah said. “I’ve never thought about having children. As a seraph, I never thought I had that option. Besides, I have my hands full taking care of these children.”

As if on cue, there was a stomp from the upper floors. From the girl’s room. Zaveid nodded in assent. “They’re a handful, aren’t they? It’s like their toddlers.”

“Oh?” Lailah leaned closer. “Have you any experience with young children?”

“Plenty.” Zaveid went quiet. “Used to take care of them a lot. It’s hard taking care of kids, but honestly? It’s all worth it in the end.”

Lailah thought back to the way everybody was seated around the dinner table, taking, laughing, simply glad to be there with each other, sharing a meal. She thought of the way Sorey offered Alisha one of his favourite foods, the friendly “war” between Rose and Edna, the way Mikleo casually turned his head the other way when Sorey tried to steal food from his plate.

Lailah couldn’t remember the last time she felt this familial bond.

“Yes, it’s all worth it indeed.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mom!Lailah and Dad!Vied are best parents.


	22. Day 22: Paper Cranes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This takes place directly after the events in Pendrago, with that certain character death. If you don't want to be spoiled, beware!

Pendrago was asleep and even the stars seemed to dim their light. Crickets chirped to empty streets, their audience unhearing as seraphim, Shepherd and Squire walked without a destination. Nobody talked to each other— what was there to say?

What was there to do?

Lailah’s heart felt heavy in a way that was familiar, though it had been too long— and at the same time, not long enough— since she last felt that weight. Sorey told her not to bear the burden herself, but what else was there to do?

Her fingers danced over coloured paper, folding, bending, the methodical process lifting a tiny bit of the weight from her mind one piece at a time. Everybody wanted their alone time, Lailah wanted time away from everything, even just for a little while. It felt like with each one she made, they carried her farther and farther into her own world.

“That looks beautiful.”

Lailah was jolted out of her world in a start with a gasp. The one she’d been building tumbled out of her hand, landing roughly on the ground, right in front of Zaveid. He was holding Dezel’s hat. With his free hand, he picked it up and gave it to Lailah, who took it back, massaging the crinkles out of the paper to the best of her ability.

Zaveid leaned onto the stone wall overlooking Pendrago, the square in the plaza where Sorey and Mikleo were talking. “Sorry for startling you and ruining your, er, paper-thing.”

“It’ll live.” Lailah said, smoothing out the last one. “I didn’t expect you to show up.”

“I came too late, it seems.” Zaveid held Dezel’s hat to his face, dropping it onto the ledge with a sigh. “Dammit…”

“Zaveid…”

“What was… he like in his last moments?”

“...I’m not sure. He was with Sorey, mostly. I was concentrating on casting a barrier to protect everyone from that seraph, Symonne.” Lailah folded the paper once more, then set it down, deeming it finished.

“I wonder if he got what he wanted.”

“You knew Dezel, didn’t you?” Lailah said it more like a statement.

“Yeah. Sort of. Before shit went down. It’s why our fighting styles are so similar. But he forgot about me, like everything else.”

“I think before he… left, he remembered. Some of it, at least.”

“I can only hope he did.” Zaveid murmured to the sky. He took notice of the way Lailah started folding another one. “So, what are you making? You’ve made a lot of them so far.” He pointed to the ledge, decorated by so many.

Lailah didn’t look up from the one she was folding. “They’re cranes. Paper cranes.”

“Cranes, like the bird?”

“Yes, those ones. I thought they would be fitting, since Dezel is— was a wind seraph and all.”

“I’m sure he’d appreciate them. May I?” Zaveid’s hand hovered over one of the cranes. Lailah nodded, and he carefully picked it up, running his fingers along the creases. “I can’t make head or tail of this. They’re amazing. How’d you learn how to do this?”

“I’ve had a lot of time to practice and I, well, enjoy making them. They help me clear my mind and help me think.”

“You’ve been doing a lot of thinking. Too much of that’ll fry your brain.” Zaveid set the crane down along with the other ones.

“Oh, that too. I mostly made them because… do you know what paper cranes mean, Zaveid?” Lailah asked. He turned to her, interested. Lailah continued. “It’s been said that the wings of cranes can carry souls to paradise…”

“...I see.”

“And there’s a legend about these cranes, too.”

“Care to enlighten me?”

“There’s a legend that if you fold 1000 of these cranes—” Lailah finished yet another and set it down, moving on to her next one. “—your wish, whatever it may be, will come true. There was once a human girl, a sickly one. She was going to die at the age of twelve and she wanted to live. Her one wish was to live past her twelfth birthday. So she began folding cranes, hoping to make 1000 of them so her wish could be granted.”

“Did she ever manage to?”

“...No. She passed away from her sickness before she could. However, her family continued to fold cranes after her death, until there were 1000 and buried them with the girl.” Lailah finished.

“That’s… a pretty sad story.”

“Do you think… Dezel felt the same way? Did he ever get what he truly wanted, or was he cut short?”

“...I dunno. Only he knows now. But, you said the girl’s family kept making cranes after her death, yeah? They continued her dream, even when she wasn’t there. That’s why we’ve gotta keep moving onward. For Dezel’s sake.”

“...For Dezel’s sake.” Lailah echoed. “Thank you, Zaveid. I feel much better now.”

“Always a pleasure to help a lady in need.” Zaveid bowed. “What’re you gonna do with all this cranes?”

“I’m… not sure.” Lailah finished the current one she was making, though she didn’t set it down, instead holding it to her chest. “I’m afraid I didn’t plan this far. Sorey talked to me before, when I was making my first one, and together, we sent it towards the skies.”

“Why not do the same with all these ones? The first one was for Dezel, and the rest could be for the people we’ve lost along the way. Sending their souls to paradise and all that.”

_ The people we’ve lost along the way.  _ Memories of smiling faces travelled through Lailah’s mind, their features blurred with time.  _ How many years has it been since…? _ “...You’ve lost a lot of people in your life too, haven’t you, Zaveid?”

“...Yeah. That’s what happens when you’re a seraph. But it’s why I’ve gotta keep pushing forward. I want to keep their memories and dreams alive.”

Lailah didn’t respond. She brought the crane in her hands to her lips, whispering a long lost promise and apology, then motioned to Zaveid. “Shall we?”

“Allow me to do the honours.” Zaveid gathered up energy from the air around him and, with a wave of his hand, sent a strong, yet gentle wind passing by that lifted the paper cranes. Lailah raised her hands and gradually let go of her crane, letting it join the others.

The cranes soundlessly glided through the sky, rising higher and higher, until they were as small as the stars themselves. Then, they were gone and with them, the weight that once was crushing Lailah. She breathed deeply, her worries fading with the breeze.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have you heard of the story of Sadako Sasaki? She was a girl who was diagnosed with leukemia at age 12, I believe, and began folding 1000 cranes in hopes that her wish (which was presumably to live) would come true. It never did, and she only manage about 644. Her friends finished the rest of the cranes and buried them with her. There's a statue of her, and apparently a lot of people lay paper cranes by it.
> 
> I change the story a bit to match the theme of the story. Did the 12-year sickness still exist in Zestiria, as it did in Berseria? I can't remember. Hm, hm, now I want to make some paper cranes of my own...
> 
> (I think this has been my favourite prompt so far. I think I'll post it individually because I'm apparently that proud =w=;;)


	23. Day 23: Dogs

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In which I turn a good portion of Zesty's cast into dogs.

Loneliness wasn’t a common visitor to Lailah, but when it came, it left her in ruins. Her home was friendly enough, and she had her fair share of friends and people to talk to, but it was missing life, something to make it more welcoming.

Alisha suggested she get a pet. At first, Lailah was reluctant to. She’d never had a pet before and was worried that she wouldn’t be an adequate caretaker. Though, numerous visits to an animal shelter made her reconsider. Soon, Lailah was dropping by without Alisha’s insistence and there, she fell in love with a beautiful brown, yappy, energetic and most of all, friendly dog.

The workers at the shelter assumed he was some kind of shepherd, perhaps a mixed breed, but since they didn’t know his origins, they couldn’t be sure. His name was Sorey, a little name tag fitted around a white collar, and he had the most beautiful brown eyes that sparkled in the sunlight. It was love at first sight and soon, Lailah was driving back to her house, Sorey sitting on her lap.

She had him for about four months. He was still a puppy, so it was expected that he was curious about everything. Honestly, Lailah felt like she could handle a toddler after Sorey. She couldn’t take her eyes off of him for ten seconds, before she’d find him digging in the garbage, destroying some furniture or peeing on the ground. He was a rascal, and Lailah loved him for it.

For a dog from a suspicious background, Sorey was also surprisingly friendly, kind to strangers, human and dog, alike. He’d join in the howls of dogs at night and eagerly sniffed at the fences of Lailah’s backyard to talk with the the dogs who lived next door. She’d seen them a couple of times, on walks. One was a rottweiler named Dezel who was, to be frank, scary. Even so, Sorey bounded up to him and happily sniffed him, ignoring the rottweiler’s stiff posture. His owner was less scary, a perky girl named Rose.

Another dog was a fluffball. Lailah didn’t know how else to explain it. When she first saw it, she had to look closely to find the dog hidden under white fur that looked as soft as a cloud. This dog, she didn’t know the name of, but his owner was a muscled man who didn’t seem like the type to have a cute, tiny dog. A larger, stronger dog seemed more appropriate but ah, who was she to judge based on appearances?

It was the morning after a storm when Lailah let Sorey into the background. The storm was a particularly rough one, trees shaking so wildly she feared they would crash and fall. Sorey had snuggled with her under the blanket all night, a comfort through the rain. The clouds were just about gone by the morning, though their damage had been done. The dark circles under Lailah’s eyes were quite pronounced as she boiled some water for coffee while Sorey, presumably, did his usual routine outside: sniff, go to the washroom, and roll around.

Scratching at the door alerted Lailah and she got up from her seat, coffee in hand, and opened the door. She heard paws tapping on the ground and refused to look at the mud Sorey surely left behind, still too sleepy to care.

Something large bumped into her leg and Lailah yawned. “Not now, Sorey,” she said, but she reached down to pet him anyways. Then stopped, when her fingers grazed fine, soft hairs as opposed to the coarse, layered hairs of Sorey’s fur.

Lailah looked down, and was greeted by white. She blinked and mentally calculated how much sleep she got that night. The dog continued to butt at her hand and it was not a hallucination.  _ What in the..?  _ This was the dog she’d seen on her walks with that man!

Sorey bounded from behind Lailah and he greeted the white dog, sniffing its nose then jumping into a playful position, playfully barking. The white dog did the same and then the two were off, running through Lailah’s home. Oh dear, she did  _ not  _ have enough coffee to deal with a rogue dog.

Lailah set her cup down and, after a minute or so of chasing the white dog, captured it at last. It wriggled in her grip, but stayed still long enough for her to check its collar.  _ Mikleo _ , the collar read. 

“Mikleo?” Lailah said aloud. Mikleo looked at her and tried to give her a kiss. Ah, so that was his name. Then, where did he come from? “Mikleo, Sorey, come!” Lailah called as she made her way to the backdoor. She opened it, peering outside. The fence separating her house and the one to the right had fallen— perhaps in the storm? It left a sizable enough hole for a dog to squeeze through. A dog like Mikleo.

Well. This wouldn’t do.

Lailah threw on some rainboots and took the two dogs outside to her backyard. She examined the fence and it didn’t appear to be something that would be fixed easily. Now, who would pay, she wondered. Carefully, she opened the gate outside of her backyard and to the other one, watching Sorey and Mikleo cheerfully tackle each other into the grass.

Lailah rapped on the backdoor of the other house with her knuckles, hoping that Mikleo’s owner was there. As she was wondering if it was better to go to the front door, the backdoor slid open, and there was that man. This time, he was without a shirt, only dressed in casual black pants and judging from his bedhead, he’d just rolled out of bed.

Lailah blushed. “A-Ah, hello. I apologize for interrupting you, but it seems like your dog has, ah…” Lailah pointed to the hole in the fence to explain. The owner sleepily blinked, then groaned, dragging his hand down his face.

“Didn’t realize the storm was that bad… shit, whatever Mikleo did, I promise I’ll make it up to you. Mikleo!” the owner hollered. Mikleo came running into the backyard, Sorey right behind his heels. He ran to the owner, past Lailah, slamming into his legs. “There you are, buddy.”

“He didn’t do anything, there’s nothing you need to worry about. In fact, I think Sorey here was happy to find a playmate.”

“Is that so?” The owner crouched down, extending a hand out to Sorey. Sorey smelled his hand and, deeming it safe, licked his hand. The owner laughed. “Sorry, Sorey. I don’t have anymore bacon for you. I can make some more, if you’d like. Er, I didn’t introduce myself, did I? Name’s Zaveid. Nice to meet you…”

“Lailah. It’s nice to meet you too, Zaveid.” Lailah shook Zaveid’s hand, feeling calouses all over. “I’ve seen you around a bit, when I’ve walked Sorey.”

“Yeah, same here. Considering how often you take him out, I’m surprised we’ve never talked.”

“Sorey’s quite energetic and he does love his walks. It’s the best way to tucker him out.”

“I can tell.” Zaveid looked to the hole in the fence and whistled. “Damn, that’s gonna be a fixer-upper.”

“I can call somebody to fix it. Perhaps we could… split the bill?” Lailah asked hesitantly. She hated having to ask a stranger for favours.

“Nah, I’ve got it. One of my friends, Eizen, he works at a hardware store, and I’m pretty good with my hands. With a few supplies, I can get that fixed up in a jiffy.”

“Are you sure there’s nothing I can do to help?”

“You can keep Mikleo outta the way. He’s always getting into my business. How’s that for payment?” Zaveid flashed her a smile and Lailah’s heart sped up.

“I think that would be wonderful. I’m sure Sorey would appreciate it, too.”

“Yeah, heh…” Zaveid scratched the back of his neck. He seemed to hesitate, then spoke, so quickly that Lailah struggled to understand his words. “D’you wanna come inside for breakfast?”

“Breakfast..?” Lailah said, taken aback.

“I mean, do you want to separate those two now?” Zaveid motioned to Sorey and Mikleo, having a tug-o-war with a rope toy most likely from Zaveid’s house. He had a point.

“Breakfast would be wonderful.” Lailah beamed and Zaveid moved aside to invite her in, then looked down on himself.

“...Maybe I should put a shirt on first. I’ll uh, be right back. Keep an eye on Mikleo, won’t you?” Zaveid was gone, disappearing deeper into his house, leaving Lailah with the two dogs.

My, this was certainly an interesting way to start a day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Confession: Is it just me, or does Dezel's name sound like a dog's name? Anyways, I based Sorey off of an Australian Shepherd and Mikleo off of an American Eskimo, more for their appearances over their behavioral traits, which I did not research for this story.
> 
> Also: This was slightly based off of one of my own experiences. I let my dog outside into the backyard for the morning, and when I looked outside, one of the planks in the fence had fallen through, and the neighbour's dog had poked his head in to say hello! That was quite a lovely surprise.


	24. Day 24: Stargazing

“Couldn’t sleep?” Zaveid’s voice, then his arms, came from behind Lailah, both enveloping her body in a warmth she didn’t know she was missing. His voice was laden with sleep, body faintly smelling of the rose-scented detergent she washed her sheets with.

“You couldn’t sleep, either?”

“Nah. I woke up randomly, saw that you were gone, and decided to look for you.”

“How did you know to look here?”

“You always come here when you’re deep in thought.”

“The stars do help me think.”

Then there was a blanket that came around her, and Zaveid sat next to her, arms around her, preserving warmth in the cool night. He turned his gaze upwards, looking at the stars.

“So, what were you thinking about?”

“The usual.”

“Ah.” Zaveid said, tone filled with understanding. He brought Lailah closer, wrapped the blanket around her a little more tightly. His actions said more than words ever could and Lailah grabbed onto his hand in thanks, squeezing it tightly.

“The stars are bright tonight,” she said. The moon, too.

“They are. I can see hundreds of them.”

“Can you spot any constellations?”

“Constellations?” Zaveid thought for a moment. “Nah. I’ve never been interested in astronomy. The only one I know is the Big Dipper, but I’ve never found it.”

“Why not try today? I believe it’s out tonight.” Lailah scanned the skies, looking at each pinprick of light. There were so many stars… the nights never changed, the stars always shone, but she never got tired of the sight. “Oh, there it is!”

“Huh? Where?”

“Right above that house with the tall chimney in the distance. It’s positioned vertically, the bowl being closer to the ground. Can you see it?”

Zaveid tilted his head sideways, which was probably a convenient excuse to rest his head on Lailah’s shoulder. “Nah, I can’t see it. Above the house with the chimney, you say?”

“Here.” Lailah pointed and Zaveid followed her finger.

“Right here?” Zaveid pointed, squinting his eyes.

“Not quite.” Lailah grasped Zaveid’s hand in her own. He was slightly off to the right. Gently, slowly, she guided his finger, pointing at each of the stars that made up the constellation. “See? Right here… and here… these two stars make up the bottom of the bowl. And then those two stars right here and here make up the other part.”

“Wait a second, I think I’ve almost got it… yeah… yeah! I can see it! Wow. It’s really obvious now that I’m finally seeing it.”

“Lovely, isn’t it?”

“Tell me about it. Not as lovely as you are, though.”

“You’re getting lazy with your compliments.”

“I think you’re just getting used to them. I’ll have to think of new ones.” Zaveid fell back onto the roof, collapsing in a heap and bringing Lailah with him, until they are laying side-by-side on the blanket. “I can’t get enough of this. I can see why you come out here so often.”

“Perhaps you should, too.” Lailah curled closer to Zaveid, resting her head on his chest, listening to the steady  _ ba-dum ba-dum  _ of his heartbeat. Zaveid toyed with her hair, brushing his fingers through it.

“Next time you go out here to think, will you invite me, too?”

Lailah hummed. “Of course.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just under a week to go! Wow, I can't believe I've survived this far. I've never seen a constellation for myself. The stars here rarely shine that bright, sadly. Have you ever seen a constellation before? I wonder if they're as beautiful as they sound.


	25. Day 25: Tears

Zaveid was whistling when he pushed open the door to the house, bags of groceries in his hand. He could hear the radio faintly playing and there was the smell of dinner wafting from the kitchen. He shut the door and took off his shoes quickly, eager to see what was cooking.

“Lailah? I’m home!” Zaveid announced as he entered the kitchen, setting the bags down on the countertops. Lailah was standing by the sink, her back to Zaveid, and she was barely hunched over. When she turned around, he saw that her eyes were red and watering, cheeks stained with the tell-tale sign of tears.

“Zaveid, welcome back.” Lailah rubbed at her eyes with the back of her hand. Zaveid was taken aback by her appearance. She didn’t tell him anything had happened.

Zaveid was by her side in an instant. “Lailah? What’s wrong? Why’re you crying? Did you hurt yourself?” He looked over her hands, anywhere, and there was no trace of blood.

“No, I—”

“Alright, who do I need to beat up?”

“That’s not—”

“Or did— Lailah?” Zaveid said. Lailah lowered her head, shaking ever so slightly, with the barest sound of a laugh. He peered at her in confusion. Lailah opened and closed her mouth, failing to string together a sentence, choosing to point at something on the counter to explain.

Zaveid looked to where she was pointing and there, on the counter, was a cutting board, a knife and…

“You were cutting onions?” Zaveid smacked his forehead. Lailah wiped the rest of her tears off and finally stopped laughing. Zaveid fell back against the counter. “I panicked over  _ nothing?” _

“If it makes you feel any better, dinner is almost ready.” Lailah smiled. “And… I’m thankful for your concern over me, even if I wasn’t really crying.”

“At least it wasn’t for nothing…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Zaveid headcanon ahoy?
> 
> I imagine Zaveid to act very aloof or even casual in moments of crisis, but when he *really* worries about somebody he cares about, that facade gets thrown out the window. And in this case, it was for a bunch of onions... -w-


	26. Day 26: Kids

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Generic modern AU.

The question didn’t come unexpectedly, unlike what Zaveid had heard. He’d seen it written over Lailah’s face when she watched him play with Laphicet, when he affectionately ruffled Mikleo’s hair and playfully arm-wrestled Sorey.

They were walking down a park one day, on a warm spring afternoon, crowded with parents and their kids. Lailah was dreamily watching some parents pushing their kids on swings and it wasn’t long before she asked, “Zaveid, what do you think about having kids?”

Yup, there it was. “I dunno.” Honesty was the best answer in this case. What  _ did  _ Zaveid think about having kids? He’d had plenty of experience with them, good and bad, and he didn’t mind their company. But to have his own kids..?

What would they look like? Would they have Lailah’s fair complexion or his tan? Smooth or coarse hair? And their personalities were a whole ‘nother thing.

“You’ve always been surprisingly good with kids.”

“But raising them and taking care of them are different things. I guess it’d be nice, but…”

“O-Oh, I wasn’t saying we should get any children right now.” Lailah said hastily. “I don’t want to rush into this.”

“That’s not to say I don’t want any kids.” Zaveid had to admit that the thought of having a family wasn’t one he humoured. For one, he usually tended to move with the wind from place to place, Eizen and Edna the only ever constant thing in his life. How long ago was it that he took care of those kids? They should be nearing the pre-teen age by now. “Maybe in the future.”

“Yes, perhaps in the future. That would be nice, wouldn’t it?”

They continued their walk, the laughter of children following them the way through.


	27. Day 27: Beach

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gasp! *Another* generic modern AU?! This one, however, has Zaveid trying to set Mikleo and Sorey together while Mikleo tries to get Zaveid and Lailah together. Commence minor hijinks.

The sun was beating down, blindingly hot, scalding the sand and making it the perfect excuse for Zaveid to be without a shirt. Well, along with the fact that they— Sorey, Mikleo, Rose and Lailah— were going swimming. The boys had already gotten changed and were on the sand, setting up their spot. A beach umbrella, a towel laid over the sand, and a lunch basket with food prepared by Mikleo and Lailah.

“It’s  _ hot _ ,” Sorey complained. “Can we just go in the water already?” He danced from foot to foot on the hot sand, brushing sweat from his forehead.

“Let’s wait for the girls first.” Zaveid said. “If we go in the water, they’re not gonna be able to find us. Until then, why don’t we just enjoy the sight of beautiful babes— yeowch!”

Mikleo had stepped on his foot,  _ hard.  _ “I think that’s just you, Zaveid. Unlike you, Sorey and I aren’t pervs.”

“Are you sure about that? I know you’re interested in at least  _ one  _ babe, Mik—”

“Look, the girls are here!” Mikleo called out, conveniently interrupting Zaveid. He jumped up and down, waving his hands. Sorey joined him. In the distance, walking towards them, he could see Rose and Lailah, both carrying their bags, a towel thrown over Rose’s shoulder.

His eyes darted straight to Lailah and heat— that was  _ not  _ from the sun —washed over Zaveid’s body, coming to a rest in his chest. He caught himself from hanging his jaw open like some kind of dog, but he was sure that his stare was obvious.

Lailah’s large, white sunhat casted shadows under her face, but her eyes still shone strongly underneath, her lips curling into a smile. “It’s a beautiful day out, isn’t it?”

“You’re— I mean yeah, it’s beautiful out.” Zaveid pointedly ignored Mikleo’s shit-eating grin. “Even with all the heat, but that’s why we came to the beach, right?”

“You betcha!” Rose cheered. “C’mon, I’ll race you to the water!” She was off without getting confirmation.

“Rose! No fair!” Sorey wailed and he raced after Rose, his floatie definitely slowing him down. He splashed into the water after Rose, surfacing with laughter, while Mikleo chose to stand with his feet in the water instead, staring unsure at the rolling waves.

“You’re not gonna join us?” Zaveid asked Lailah.

“I think I want to enjoy the sun some more. I’ll stay here and watch out stuff; you go have some fun.”

If truth were to be told, Zaveid felt slightly disappointed, but he hid it under a chuckle. “Need me to rub some sunscreen on your lusious—”

“I think I’m fine, Zaveid.” Lailah said with a good-natured smile. 

“Zaveid!” Sorey yelled from the water. Zaveid spun around to see the poor boy trying valiantly to fight off an assault of splashing water from Rose and Mikleo. Cackling, Rose launched herself at Sorey, evidently trying to drag him underwater.

“Looks like I’ve gotta go. Try not to get sunburned!” Zaveid waved and ran off to save Sorey, first accidentally-but-not-really pushing Mikleo into the water and enjoying his screech of surprise far too much. Mikleo’s cry had taken Rose’s attention and Sorey took that opportunity to splash Rose with a face-full of water.

The war had officially begun. Zaveid and Sorey versus Rose and Mikleo. What the war was for and how it would be won, nobody knew. It was just a non-stop barrage of water. Zaveid had the advantage of strength, while the other team was dragged down by Mikleo’s inability to swim and his reliance on his floatie. Then again, Zaveid had a handicap too, by the name of Sorey. He was far too kind to attack Mikleo, focusing on Rose. Thankfully, Zaveid was a gentleman and didn’t spare Mikleo from the water.

Through the war, however, Zaveid couldn’t help sparing periodic glances back to the beach, where Lailah was laying on the towel, hands behind her head, one of her legs crossed over the other. 

“Zaveid, stay focused!” Sorey said.

Mikleo was a lot more observant. “What are you looking at, Zaveid?” he said in a tone that indicated he knew  _ exactly  _ what— or who —Zaveid was looking at.

“Babe-watching?”

“Which  _ babe _ in particular?”

“Oh, y’know. Nobody in particular.”

“That’s a lie if I’ve ever heard one.” Mikleo snorted. “You can just say ‘Lailah’, we all know the answer.”

“Well, maybe I’m just wondering if we should invite Lailah over to the water. She looks a bit lonely there, doesn’t she?”

“True, true. Why don’t you invite her?”

“I’ve gotta protect Sorey.” Zaveid pointed to Sorey, who was trying desperately to escape Rose’s grasp, swimming as far from her as he could. They were ignoring Zaveid and Mikleo, too engrossed in their own little game. “You don’t wanna see Sorey get hurt, do you?”

“He’s not gonna get hurt. We’re playing with water.” Mikleo rolled his eyes. “What’s so hard about asking Lailah to swim?”

Everything, Zaveid realized. “Are you trying to dare me to ask Lailah out?”

“If you want.” Mikleo had the most smug smirk he’d ever seen, more smug than anything he’d ever seen on Edna. Oh,  _ shit.  _ He discovered his mistake too late and nearly trying to drown Mikleo under a splash of water wasn’t stopping him. “I only wanted you to ask her to swim with us, but if you’d like to ask her out, I won’t stop you.”

“That’s not what I was gonna do!”

“You were always asking her for dates before. And you’ve always been flirting with her. What’s the difference now?”

The most and importance difference: she was Lailah (and she was wearing a swimsuit today, to boot). For some reason, for some  _ goddamned reason _ , Zaveid’s normally smooth tongue fumbled and flailed when he actually put thought into asking Lailah for a real date. It was a habit of his to casually throw out random pick-up lines with no thought behind it, but trying to do it for real, being completely serious about it?

“Mikleo! Get over here! Did you come here to swim or sit down and have a tea party?!” Rose called from somewhere off in the water, towards the deeper end.

“Coming!” Mikleo answered. “I’m gonna go back to join Rose and Sorey. I’ll see you and Lailah in a bit?”

That wasn’t a question and Zaveid groaned. This was what he got for trying to play matchmaker. “Fine, fine. I’ll ask her to swim.”

And maybe for a date, if his nerves were strong enough. Zaveid began to swim back to shore, feeling that familiar heat swell in his chest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And *another Zaveid minor headcanon?!?!
> 
> Because of his past (coughtheodoracough), I imagine Zaveid to be very hesitant about getting into a real relationship. Everything- his flirting, his perviness -is mostly a mask he wears, and he gets veeery nervous about taking that mask off to do something for real thanks to his unfortunate past.
> 
> And he gets flustered when somebody (Lailah) flirts back at him because he's not used to that. I wonder if, even though I didn't state this before, this "headcanon" was obvious to spot in some of these prompts? I feel like they've been *too* obvious, whoops.


	28. Day 28: Movie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's another... drumroll please... generic modern AU!

Lailah was already curled up on the couch, a bowl of popcorn in hand and two bottles of soda in arm’s reach, wrapped in blankets. Zaveid nudged her aside, careful not to spill his own bowl of popcorn in the darkened room. To get the full effect, the lights had to be turned off, of course.

“Ready?” Lailah asked. Zaveid wriggled around, trying his best to find a comfortable position. Eventually, he settled on leaning back against the couch with one of his arms around Lailah, his popcorn in his lap.

“You sure you wanna watch this?”

“I’m not afraid of scary movies. Besides,  _ The Exorcist  _ is an old film, isn’t it? It shouldn’t be that scary.”

“Don’t worry, if it gets too scary, you can always curl up to me. I’ll protect you.” As if to prove his point, Zaveid hugged Lailah a little closer.

“You’re un- _ boo _ -lievable.”

“Just as much as your puns are,” Zaveid said with a snort and a shake of his head. He hit play on the remote and the movie began to play. They both never saw it before, nor were they expected much. Hell, for most of the movie, they were talking over the actors, criticizing the special effects and pointing out all the obvious foreshadowing and plot points.

For the second part of the movie, when things were getting a little more interesting, they stayed quiet instead, throwing popcorn into their mouths while enjoying the miserable spectacle playing out before them.

Lailah’s head was resting on his shoulder and her breathing gradually grew slower and slower. Zaveid paid her no attention, too engrossed in the movie, until the finale, where he began poking at Lailah. “Hey, Lailah, you see this? I can practically see the strings.”

Lailah’s response was silence and when he looked over to her, she was fast asleep against his shoulder.  _ How long was she sleeping for?  _ Zaveid looked from the screen, to Lailah and back again, deciding that y’know what, she wasn’t missing out on much. He wasn’t going to bother waking her up.

Once the movie finished, Zaveid shut the T.V off and carefully set both bowls— filled only with kernels now —on the ground. Lailah stirred, but didn’t wake, not even as Zaveid laid her down on the couch alongside himself. It was too much of a struggle to wake her up so they could both go upstairs. This was fine as-is.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> shoutout to the fact that i can name like 3 movies tops. I don't waaaaatch moooovies~


	29. Day 29: Ring

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Takes place post-game.

“Mikleo! You’re back!” Lailah ran down the steps of Ladylake’s cathedral, arms spread wide open for a hug. He embraced her gratefully.

“It’s nice to see you, Lailah. How have you been?”

“Same old, same old. I want to hear about  _ you _ , Mikleo. Have you written another chapter in your book? And— oh! Your hair!” Lailah carefully felt a delicate strand of Mikleo’s hair, rubbing it in between her fingers. “It’s so  _ soft!  _ You  _ must _ let me style it while you’re here!”

“Has it really gotten that long?” Mikleo self-consciously felt his hair. “I haven’t noticed.”

“What do you do to take care of it?”

“Take care of it? Nothing, much. I just wash it with water every so often.”

Lailah’s face fell. “You’re lucky to have such gorgeous hair with little effort. I’m so glad you decided to grow it out.”

“Weren’t you the one who encouraged— which was more like demanded, mind you —me to grow my hair out?”

“Mikleo,  _ water _ you talking about? I’d never do such a thing!” Lailah giggled and clasped her hands in front of her face, giddy with joy at Mikleo’s sigh. Centuries had passed and he never grew tired of her puns. That was the greatest gift anybody could give.

“Wait, Lailah.” Mikleo’s eyes roamed to her hands, her left one to be exact. There, gold and silver, jewels inlaid within… “Is that a ring?”

“Oh, yes, it’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Lailah toyed with her ring, as if suddenly remembering that she had it on. Its weight was such a comforting and normal presence, like it was always meant to be there. She had already forgotten what it was like to be without it, and she was in no hurry to remember.

“That’s your  _ ring _ finger.” Mikleo said, still aghast. “No way. You mean to tell me that Zaveid..?”

“It was only a couple of weeks back. I wanted to keep it a secret until we could gather everybody together.” Lailah smiled. “Your visit was so unexpected, I forgot to hide it.”

“I can’t believe you guys have been together for so long… How did he do it?

“The proposal?” Lailah shyly hid her cheeks under her hands. “He took me to the fountain here, where he first confessed his love to me… a decade ago? I think it was. Time passes too quickly for a seraph to remember. It was sunset, and he brought me flowers and offered to take me for dinner afterwards. He was so serious about it all, and of course I said yes. I couldn’t ask for anything better.”

“Sounds like a Zaveid thing. So, when’s the wedding?”

“The wedding?” Lailah cocked her head, confused, then made a sound of surprise. “Oh, those! Well, seraphim don’t normally have weddings like humans do.”

“They don’t? Funny, Sorey was always talking about them for one reason or another. You’d think that a human raised by seraphim wouldn’t know that. I wonder who taught him?”

“I’ve been to a few human weddings, and they’re always great fun, but I never imagined having one myself,” Lailah said thoughtfully, bringing a finger to her lip, deep in thought.

“Why not have one yourself? I’d like to visit a human wedding. We can invite everyone. Edna, Uno, Morgrim…”

“That sounds like a wonderful idea! I know Zaveid will love it. But, it’s strange for seraphim to be having a human wedding, don’t you think?”

“You’re right…” Mikleo had that same expression on his face, that melancholic one, whenever he thought about Sorey. He got better over the years, but the hole in his heart was still aching, surely. 

“That’s settled then! We’ll just have to wait until Sorey comes back.”

“Are you sure you and Zaveid will be okay with it?”

“There’s no way we’d get married without him! He’d never forgive us if he missed the wedding.”

Mikleo chuckled. “...Yeah, he definitely wouldn’t.”

“Now, come inside, I’d still like to style your hair, and perhaps you can help me plan the wedding. After all, you were the one to bring it up. What are human weddings normally like? The bride wears a white dress, doesn’t she? I’ll need to plan one out, perhaps I should ask Edna for help. Oh, and the food! We’ll need a lot of food, do you mind helping cook, Mikleo? Where would we put it all..? That’s right, we need to find out where it’ll take place. Do you think Zaveid has any ideas? I should…”

Mikleo sighed, Lailah’s voice turning to a buzz in his ears. Yep, he deserved this. He imagined what the day would be like, when it came. An orchestra playing, Lailah and Zaveid, hand in hand, dancing to the beat of the music, tables decorated with endless amounts of sweets and congratulations from human and seraphim alike, nothing but love and the happiness they both deserved in each other’s eyes.

Okay, so maybe it would be worth it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> mfw this isn't as much of zavelai as it is soymilk. nervous laughter.


	30. Day 30: Flowers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Post-game.

One minute after they came back, back to the world above and out of the malevolence-infested place, Zaveid felt numb, physically and emotionally. He was one with Siegfried but after becoming the energy that which he fired for 1000 years, he was ready to take a century-long nap.

Would Sorey be back by then? He’d lost so many over the years, most of them he killed himself. When he agreed to travel with the Shepherd and their companions, he never expected to grow so attached to them. Edna was Edna, though sometimes he found it difficult to look at her, and sometimes he saw Eizen’s eyes staring back. Rose, much like him, killed to save and he felt like a mentor of sorts to her. His memories of Dezel— both before and after  _ that  _ happened —were still strong, and yet another reminder that sometimes to kill (or die, in this case) was to be saved.

Sorey and Mikleo were reminders, too, but the other way around. He’d thought them foolish at first. Humans and seraphim, getting along? He saw what happened firsthand when seraphim— then known as malakhim —got too close to humans. But, they proved to him time and time again that hope wasn’t just a fool’s ideal.

Then there was Lailah…

One hour after they came back, Mikleo and Rose’s tears had dried. The rest didn’t cry, they were all too used to loss, and showed their grief in different ways. In what felt like centuries (maybe it was), Zaveid was at a loss for words. Already, he could feel the burn of malevolence lifting from the air, but his heart still stung.

One month after they came back, Alisha found out what happened and it was like the grief from the past came back all again. The seraphim had been working hard to protect Sorey in the same way he was protecting them from the malevolence. Zaveid stood strong, he had to, and he noticed Lailah doing the same, while the girls cried for their fallen friend.

Only in each other’s company, both seraphim battered with age, did they open up about their loss, and all of their other ones. Zaveid thought he had a hard life— compared to Lailah’s, it seemed like a cakewalk. But, they’d gone through this before, they were coping with it. Zaveid left shortly after, never wanting to stay in one place for too long, and an origami bird followed him in the wind.

One century after they came back, Zaveid still hadn’t taken his nap, but there was a lot of work to be done. That was for later, though. It was the anniversary of Sorey’s sacrifice and everybody came from various places across the world to gather in his tomb, to remember the boy who sacrificed himself and to relax together, like old times.

Mikleo’s hair was longer, and he certainly looked more mature, less like the young teenage boy Zaveid met on Rayfalke. He was slightly taller, and bore a lot more regal clothes. Fitting, considering he and his books were a big hit and he was practically a celebrity now. 

Edna was taller, too. She still had her parasol, Normin doll and Eizen’s stuff, but when Zaveid looked into her eyes, he didn’t see Eizen and maybe that was for the better.

Lailah, on the other hand, was the same as usual. Time didn’t touch her while Ladylake changed all around her while she remained to guide further Shepherds, Squires and seraphim.

The chamber was decorated with flowers. Edna and Mikleo had gone to investigate the seals (Zaveid thought he saw water in Mikleo’s eyes. It was an improvement from last time, when tears were pouring down his cheeks). He and Lailah were left alone to watch over Sorey sleeping. 

Lailah was rearranging the flowers that had fallen and like her, they seemed to be untouched by time. They smelled great, looked great and nothing like what Zaveid expected flowers to be like after left in an old, rotting dungeon for years.

Or not, as he found out, when Lailah caught him staring and said, “I brought them here before the rest of you showed up. I thought he might appreciate them.”

He, meaning Sorey and Mikleo both. “Did you grow them yourself?” Zaveid asked as he thumbed the petals of one. It felt soft, like velvet.

“I do, in Ladylake. They help me keep track of time. Unlike trees, flowers need constant care. If you forget about them for too long, they’ll wilt.”

“How often do you bring them here?”

“Whenever I have spare time. Sometimes Mikleo and Edna bring flowers, too.”

“Now I’m feeling bad.” Zaveid rubbed the back of his head. “Think I should have brought some?”

“There’s some flowers growing outside. We can go grab them, if you’d like.” Lailah offered.

“You’re the boss.”

They left the tomb, Sorey’s light following them until they were too far for it to reach. No hellions were around and it was nice to have a relaxing walk without worrying about getting killed. Outside, the world was the same. Bright blue sky, rich forests and a warm sun, all without malevolence. Since this was the place closest to Sorey, it was also the purest.

True to her world, the grass was decorated in splashes of colour and Zaveid wondered how he missed them all. Lailah pointed to a cluster of tiny blue ones. “Those are forget-me-nots.”

“There’s a flower called forget-me-not? They were creative when naming that one. Lemme guess, it means…”

“Remembrance.” Lailah answered. “They symbolize remembrance.”

“What about the other ones?”

“Those there are carnations.” Lailah pointed to another bunch of flowers, this time in warm hues of pinks and reds. “I planted seeds there a while back and they seem to have grown without me.”

“What do those mean?” Zaveid reached down and meant to pluck a red one when Lailah stopped him.

“The red ones symbolize love. A deep romantic love.”

“Oh, do the pink ones mean love, too?”

Lailah’s cheeks were the same shade as the carnations. “Through the grapevine… I’ve heard that… that the pink carnations symbolize a mother’s love. It's... Zaveid!” Lailah admonished. “Stop laughing!”

Zaveid had sunk to his knees, clutching his stomach. “You— you’re really such a  _ mom _ , y’know that?”

“I can’t help it!”

“So you’re admitting it!”

“If you’re going to tease me, I won’t tell you any more flower meanings.” Lailah threatened, and she looked as scary as a mouse. She was laughing, too, and sat down in the flowers alongside Zaveid. “Okay, fine, so I can be a bit of a mother hen towards them.”

“They’re not kids anymore. Mikleo’s gotten so tall. You think Sorey would be jealous?”

“I think he’d be impressed, over anything. You know him.” Lailah plucked a flower from the ground, white petals with a yellow center. It was a daisy, that much Zaveid knew. “Daisies symbolize innocence, purity, cheerfulness… anything word you can think of to describe Sorey, these flowers represent.”

“Did you plant them here yourself?” Zaveid took the flower from Lailah’s hands.

“No… they grew on their own. It’s quite the coincidence.”

“So flowers are beautiful  _ and  _ smart. Like another one I know.” Zaveid said with a knowing smile.

“Who, Edna?” Lailah coyly hid her smile behind her hand.

“No, I was talking about you! You’re not named after a flower, but you’re like one.”

“I’m assuming it’s because of the usual. Beautiful, delicate, you know the rest.”

“Damn, maybe I should start changing up my game.” Zaveid leaned back, resting his hand on the ground for support, feeling the flowers— carnations —under his hands. An idea sparked in his mind and he turned his back to Lailah, hiding his hands from view. “How’s this?”

Zaveid busied himself for a moment, then, spun and flourished red carnations, stems tied together in a pathetic attempt at a bouquet. It was the thought that counted, wasn’t it?

“Zaveid!” Lailah covered her mouth. “You know what those flowers mean, don’t you?”

“Yup. Thanks to you, and that’s why I’m giving them to you.” Zaveid plucked one from the bouquet and brushed aside Lailah’s hair from her face, tucked her hair behind her ear along with the carnation. Lailah’s face was the same shade as the carnation, raising a tentative hand to slowly run her fingers across the petals.

“Zaveid… thank you.”

Later, they went back inside to Sorey’s tomb, forget-me-nots and daisies in hand. Edna raised her eyebrows at the sight of the red carnation in Lailah’s hair, but she said nothing about it. They left, the only reminder of their encounter a faint floral scent clinging to their clothes.

One week later, when Zaveid came back to pay a visit to Ladylake (and Lailah, naturally), she still had the carnation, along with...

"Roses," Lailah said. Bright red ones. "Do you know what they mean?"

"I'm not  _that_ clueless __." Zaveid said, and their lips met.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOOOOOOOOOOO
> 
> I did it...! 30 days of prompts!! I'll have to admit right here, I wasn't sure if I'd get this far this fast. No lies, there were many times where I felt so discouraged with the quality of my writing (among other things) and wanted to just give up, or on the especially bad days, delete this work and pretend it didn't exist. But hey, I did it and I've learned a lot through it. Still don't know what romance is, since I'm not sure if half of these prompts can classify as romantic, but I've gotten a lot of practice in. 
> 
> There are still some days where I feel ~eh~ about and I feel like I could write it better given enough time, but ya know wat, this is good enough for me. I have newfound respect for NaNoWriMo writers; I'd never be able to handle that. 
> 
> Anyways, if you've read this far, whether you've skipped 80% of the prompts or have read all of them, thank you for sticking with me to the end~ What was your favourite?
> 
> Until next time~


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